


The Elements

by barboletta



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF), Video Blogging & YouTube RPF
Genre: Character Death, Codependency, M/M, Rebellion, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-27
Updated: 2014-03-04
Packaged: 2018-01-13 23:58:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 23,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1245127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/barboletta/pseuds/barboletta
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Very long ago that was a gift - to control one of the four elements, to have powers. Now that is what makes you a misfit, making you hide and survive. Unsatisfied with their postion, the benders start a rebel and a war that would change their life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Well, first of all, thank you. For everyone who has listened to me while I wrote this and who put up with me and my laziness and my writer’s block of the sort. I love you all.
> 
> Secondly, this isn’t a sad story or a fluff story. This is a life story, and in life you can’t have one without another, especially in a life of the warrior. 
> 
> This is my fic for PhandomBigBang. You can also read it on my tumblr - lettieewans.tumblr.com

Dan is four. It is his birthday and he is so proud, because he can finally wear grownup clothes, like shirt and trousers and a grownup tunic on top instead of these weird robes all children wear. He has got his costume in the morning and it is beautiful, red, gold and black threads making a dragon on his tunic. He likes dragons; the legend says, they can make fire, like him.

His mum doesn't like dragons. She doesn't like fire, too and every time Dan makes it burn on his palm, he shouts at him. Dan thinks she is afraid he will hurt himself. But he won't. The fire doesn't feel hot or burning, it is just warm and friendly and harmless. He believes it can even speak, he hears it at night, but when he says it to his mum, she hits him. Dan never speaks of voice of the fire again, because it makes his mum sad.

But she is not sad today. They are going out in the city, and everyone is smiling at them and they bow in front of their carriage. His mum waves from the open window and Dan stands on a bench to see the crowd, but his mum makes him sit again. He is excited because they are going to see the festival of lights and he is lucky to have his birthday on such a great day, when everything is so beautiful. Dan holds his mum's hand and tries to go as fast as she does, but fails a bit. His mum's smile fades as he trips for the third time, but she doesn't walk any slower. They stop in front of the huge fountain in the centre of town, and it is decorated with lights and Dan cannot look away from the blicks on the water. His mum sits him on the edge, kneeling in front of him, and looks in his eyes.

"You should sit here", she says in the tone she usually uses when she punishes Dan for making fire. Dan doesn't understand because he hasn't done anything wrong, has he?

"You will sit here until I come back for you", his mum continues, "You are not allowed to go anywhere. Watch the lights."

With these words she stands up and goes away. Dan stays sitting on the edge of the fountain and watches his mum leave and blend with the crowd. He sits on the fountain and watches people passing by. There are women in bright and dull clothes and families with children and people in dark, almost black clothes, who watch everyone. There are some children without parents and Dan knows they are homeless because that's what his mum told him. His mum said they were poor and dirty and rude, but these are clean and they wear nice bright tunics and they laugh so loud, that Dan wants to laugh with them. They come to the fountain and Dan watches them closely. One of the boys, the one in bright yellow tunic, notices Dan and smiles at him and Dan looks away instantly. His mum doesn't allow speaking to unknown people, especially the homeless.

He sits on the edge of a fountain for hours. People come and go and some of them look at Dan strangely and he starts to feel scared. The Children are still playing by the fountain and he watches them, trying not to think about his mum. Evening comes and it is dark and his mum hasn't returned yet. The streetlights are lit and people disappear from the streets. He catches one of the people in the dark looking at him and he becomes much more afraid. Dan wants to cry, but he is already four and he has to be brave.  
The children are going to go too. They get quiet and stand in a line in front of the boy in yellow, who counts them and asks each a question. Dan looks away and stares in the direction which his mum had left. He wants to beg children in the bright clothes stay with him, but he can't because his mum would be angry if she learns. He nearly jumps when the boy in the yellow, speaks to him.

"What's your name?" he smiles and Dan feels less scared.

"Dan, " he answers. He doesn't want to upset his mum, but he doesn't want to stay here alone. Maybe if he speaks to the boy, he will stay and wait with him.

"Hi Dan. I'm Phil."

Someone from the group shouts to him, but Phil just raises his hand to them and they fall quite.

"Why are you here Dan?" Phil asks as he sits near Dan. Dan watches him carefully, because Phil is old, he might be eight or even ten, and he is homeless. But Phil smiles so fondly, he can't be dangerous. And if he hurts him, Dan can always make fire to scare him away.

"Mum left me here to sit. She said not to go anywhere and wait for her."

Phil frowns and glances at the group of children standing not far from them. There are seven of them, eight with Phil, Dan counts. They wait impatiently for Phil to join them and talk with each other. They all wear bright tunics, green, blue and yellow, and whisper angrily. Phil seems to be the oldest one among them.

"Can you do something? I mean something very special, like make wind faster or plants grow or maybe make water flow where you want?"

Dan is a bit surprised with Phil asking him. His mum told him not to show his fire; she told him not to speak to strangers too,but he already passed one thing threshold so what harm could the other bring? Moreover, Phil seemed to be a friend and friends share secrets, right?

"I can-” Dan stutters and takes a deep breath to calm himself,”I can make fire dance on my palm,"he holds out his hand to show Phil, but Phil pushes it away.

"You show me later, ok? Come with us Dan. It’s already dark and.."

"But mum said to stay here and wait!" Dan interrupts. Phil looks at him and smiles, but his eyes hold a sad look.

"Your mum won't come back, Dan. I am sorry," Phil says quietly. He jumps off from the edge and gives Dan a hand, but Dan doesn't move. What does he mean, she won't come back?

"But she promised!" Dan shouts and people in the dark turn to them. Phil sees it and he is a bit worried.

"I know, Dan." Phil speaks fast as if they are in a hurry. "Look, how about you come with us, and you will eat and sleep and tomorrow we come again, to wait for your mum?"

Other children watch them in silence, and they seem to be worried too. Dan feels uncomfortable, because his mum won't be happy with his misbehaviour, but he is pretty hungry and cold and people in the dark are really scary. So he nods and holds Phil's hand as he climbs off the edge. Phil takes him by his hand as Dan stands on the ground. They walk to other children: they all watch Dan with sad looks on their face and Dan shivers. Phil notices it and squeezes his hand and he feels more confident. One of the boys, who is six maybe, gives him a hand too and they walk in front of the column. All the children are silent; it is terrifying to Dan, but the hands of the two older boys give him courage. He doesn't look back at the fountain and fear leaves Dan as they walk.

"Where are we going?" he asks.

"Home," Phil answers and Dan wishes to question him further, but something subsides him to silence. 

They walk to a big building outside the town, with big walls and huge gates. Dan remembers it, they passed it a few times with his mum, but she said no one lives there. As they come closer he sees his mum was wrong. There are lights inside and a distant noise can be heard, as if people are talking and laughing. Phil knocks and the gates open. On the other side a young woman in grey stands and smiles and Dan has never seen such a warm smile. The children behind them greet her and walk past them. The boy in blue, who held Dan's hand, leaves too and Dan is scared that Phil will leave him too, but he doesn't. They come to the woman and she smiles as she tries to separate them, but Dan doesn't let go. Phil makes him feel braver and he is sure he will protect him.

The young woman still smiles slightly as they walk behind her through a big yard, where older children play. They enter a big house with three floors and it is warm inside and smells nice. Dan notices paintings on the wall, dragons and trees and suns and rivers. Phil never lets go of his hand and they enter a small room, where a person, an old man, sits. He looks away from his book, pushing the glasses back on his nose. The young woman whispers something to the old man and then leaves the room. Phil wants to follow her, but Dan tightens his grip. Phil stays.

"Well, who are you, my dear boy?" The old man asks and his voice is soothing and Dan relaxes a bit.

"Dan. My name is Dan," he says unsurely when Phil interrupts him.

"We met him at the fountain. He waited for his mum."

The old man watches Dan closely. Dan presses himself to Phil, trying to hide.

"He is fire," Phil continues and the old man seems to be surprised a bit. He stands up and walks closer to Dan, who takes a step behind Phil. The old man smiles at him and Phil sits on his knees before Dan.

"You wanted to show me, remember? The fire dancing on your palm? You can do it now."

Dan shakes his head slowly, and Phil takes his other hand. They are unusually cold, like ice or snow. Phil looks him in the eyes and Dan sees something in them, something familiar and yet unknown. He knows Phil won't shout at him and he releases his hand and holds it out. He concentrates and thinks of dragons and a small flame starts to burn on his palm. It grows stronger and stronger until Phil smiles at him and he turns it out. The old man looks amused at him and he feels better. They won't harm him, they won't shout. He relaxes instantly.

Dan and Phil stay at the old man's for another hour. The old man's name is Thomas Britt, but everyone calls him The Master. He tells Dan about elements and people who have powers and how lucky Dan is to be one of them. He tells him the history, but Dan understands nothing. The Master tells him to eat and sleep, and Phil takes Dan to cantina where the smells are so appetizing Dan's stomach grumbles loudly. They eat together, some warm soup and bread, and Dan feels even sleepier. He remembers walking to a big room with beds everywhere and there are a lot of boys. Phil undresses him and they lay in bed together, Dan is too tired to argue about it. He falls asleep to Phil's colder hands around his waist. He thinks of his mum and how he will tell her about these wonderful people and Phil, he will definitely tell her about Phil.

The next day they wake up with the bell. They dress, wash and go to eat. Phil doesn't' leave his side and Dan is grateful for this. Some children come up to him and talk and he feels surer today as he knows they won't harm him. He meets the boy in blue, PJ, and another boy, in green, Chris, and they are as nice as Phil. They go to town in the afternoon, and Dan is a bit scared to meet his mum, but he already misses her so it doesn't matter. He sits by the fountain and watches other children play. He wants to play too, but he doesn't want to disappoint his mum more and nobody asks him to play with them.

She doesn't come. Dan waits for her the next day and the day after and a week after. She never comes and Dan realises she never will. He cries at night and other boys sleep with him sometimes. He is the youngest and everyone loves him and plays with him. In two months he starts training to control his fire with other children. He forgets about the worst betrayal in his life, but he never forgives.


	2. Second Chapter

Dan is six. It is a warm spring afternoon and he sits in the yard watching the water people practice. There are only older ones who train - the younger ones watch them from the corner. Dan notices PJ among them; he watches all the moves closely and tries to repeat them. The Master and Charlie, one of the oldest waterbenders, who is twenty already, says that PJ is highly talented and Dan can see it. He loves PJ.

All the other younger ones are out and playing near fountain or somewhere on the streets of the town. They called Dan too, but he didn't want to go. He goes out rarely now, as Phil is prohibited from it. He likes to play with others, with Charlie, airman, and Jack and Dean, both earth. But Phil is so lonely and he needs to stay inside all the time and Dan likes Phil better than anyone, so he stays with him too.

Phil is an older one now. He doesn't like this; he has become more silent and secretive. His hands are so cold, they feel like ice, but Dan knows it is not ice, but cold wind. Dan hopes when he would be of age and he would gain the full power, there would be enough warmness to heat them both. But this coldness is not what makes Phil upset. He is locked inside now, he can't go out, because now people in dark clothes can feel him and his power and he could be killed or kidnapped. Phil has cried for almost two weeks every night since his birthday and his talk with the Master. Dan has always been by his side to hold his hand at day and warm him up at night. 

Phil is moved to the higher rooms. He lives with other air people that are of age and he has made some friends, but he still prefers to play with Dan and talk to him. They are proclaimed inseparable and even Master closes his eyes when Dan sneaks to the older ones' bedroom to sleep with Phil. It is abnormal, though. Air and fire are not the usual fitting elements, but they don't care about this. They just like each other and Dan is grateful to Phil for saving his life two years ago.

The older water people have a little break and it is time for the younger ones. They start with a meditation and Dan notices how different everyone is when they stay relaxed with closed eyes. PJ seems calm and almost asleep, whereas Emma, a girl who is almost eight, is all tense and tries his best to keep her power in control. Dan wonders how he looks like when he closes his eyes and falls to the white room of his subconscious. He hopes he looks like PJ, but there is little chance he does. PJ is talented and a prodigy; Dan is ordinary and though he is fire which is rare now, but that is everything that is special of him.

He feels someone sit next to him and it takes a second to realise it is Phil. Dan takes his hand feeling cold instantly. It feels usual and comforting. Phil is silent and he watches the yard absentmindedly. Dan doesn't how it feels when you suddenly get all the powers, but he knows it is unpleasant. Phil sometimes describes it like the air is tangible, touchable, like he is under the sea, but he still can breathe. Phil's breath is calm most of the time, but in the night he chokes sometimes and Dan is afraid in these moments. The Master says it is normal though, and Phil will get accustomed with time. The process has started already; the candles don't get blown out any time Phil is angry or excited, but there is still a wave of cold wind whenever he argues with somebody.

There are some advantages too. Grace, the oldest airgirl, who is nineteen, says she never saw somebody who felt the air so accurate, who knew where it will blow the next time. Phil is talented, as much as PJ, and Dan feels incredibly proud of his friends. Phil sighs a bit and Dan turns his head from the yard, where the younger ones practise some new movements, to look at Phil.

"What's wrong?” Dan asks and Phil turns to look in his eyes. Phil's eyes have changed colour again, and now they are light blue, with a green ring outside. Dan feels jealous about it.

"No, it's okay. Just a bit tough,” Phil smiles at Dan, "Don't worry, it will get better."

Dan nods quietly, but doesn't turn away. His hand has already lost its warmness and he feels unusually cold, but he doesn't let go. He is used to it.

"Why aren't you out with others?" Phil asks, pointing his head to the side a little.

"I didn't feel like it. You're not there and PJ is here for training, so I have no one to play with."

"What about Chris then? Didn't he apologise to you?"

Dan frowns. Chris is a good boy, an earthman, but his jokes are sometimes cruel and hurting. Last week he played a joke on Dan, climbing under his bed and talking in strange scary voices. Dan became so afraid he couldn't sleep and the next two nights he spent with Phil. In the end, Phil made Chris tell Dan the truth, and apologise, but Dan has still been mad at him. And scared.

"He did," Dan nods acceptingly. "But I don't want to play with him still. He is scary."

Phil laughs and Dan frowns even more.

"It is not funny! I thought they were really coming. I thought they came for you!" Dan punches Phil in his side, releasing his hand from Phil's grip. His arm is cold to his elbow and he doesn't notice it until then. It is Phil's turn to frown.

"They won't get us here. We are protected by the walls and spells. Nobody from the powerless can hear or see what happens here. Don't be afraid."

Phil takes Dan's hand again, but lets go quickly as he realises it is not warm.

"I nearly froze your hand! Why didn't you tell me?!" Dan can see worry in Phil's eyes. It’s always there when they touch longer than fifteen minutes.

"It's okay. I didn't notice."

"You should tell me about it, right? I don't want to hurt you."

They fall silent. There are the older ones who practise now and the younger watch them carefully. They practise with water already, making it go in various forms and Dan’s curious whether he would be able to do this fire. There is only one older one with fire, Ben, but he never practices it with him, Carrie, or Alex. He says it is too dangerous, to bend fire in a closed yard, because it needs a lot of open space. Dan wants so much to watch the fire dance, not only on his palm or in the candle, but a real dance, with dragons and flames, but he knows it is not possible. They would all be taken if they performed fire anywhere than the protected abbey.

Phil still looks in front of him. He doesn’t notice anything, he is deep in his thoughts and Dan can’t look away from him. His eyes are in the process of changing colour and it is like watching the sky – they shift so fast and slow at the same time. Phil moves his hand and there is a little wind, taking some dust and last year’s leaves over the floor. Phil moves his fingers a bit and makes the little tornado move in circles as Dan watches it closely. All bending Phil does out of his classes is for Dan and his curiosity.

Dan smiles a bit at the tornado. It makes a circle and another one and one more and it calms him so much he feels a bit sleepy. The warmness comes back to his hand and it is not as numb anymore as it was. He stretches it out and tries to touch the tornado, which flinches from his touch. Dan laughs out loud and Phil smiles too, finally. He is way too serious for a ten-year old child. Dan moves himself closer to the tornado and attempts it touch it again, but he is a second late when tornado fades away as quickly as it appeared. But Dan doesn’t care. He doesn’t look away from the place was and his arm is still stretched. Dan is in shock and he watches his hand carefully. This hasn’t happened before.

“What’s wrong?” Phil asks, shifting himself closer to Dan. He is worried and he doesn’t look away from the younger boy.

“I-it was wa-a-arm,” Dan mutters and stares in disbelief at Phil. “The wind ... It was warm!”

“That’s not possible,” Phil sighs and shakes his head. Being an airman means always being cold and not being able to warm up. The wind they make – from light breezes to horrific storms – will always stay cold as ice. The airpeople are not meant to know warmness.

“But I felt it! It was warm!” Dan frowns and pouts and he looks more of a child than any time before. Phil forgets sometimes that he is only six and there is an actual age gap between them.

“Okay. I will try again. If it is warm I will feel it too,” Phil nods and moves his fingers a little. The light breeze appears out of nowhere and blows at boys. It is comforting and gentle and it is warm. And that is definitely Phil.

“Told ya!” Dan exclaims and pokes Phil at his side, “Maybe you are not an ice king, after all” Dan laughs and Phil tickles him, his hands still cold as ice in the winter morning. Dan tries to escape instantly.

“Why is that?” He asks, “Why are your hands cold and wind is warm?”

“I don’t know.” Phil sighs, ” Maybe because you warmed me up? The Master said once, you can pass some of your powers to other people, maybe you did it...”

“Of course I did,” Dan smiles a bit disbelievingly. He is the younger one, only six; he is powerless and he is nothing. He couldn’t do that.

“It is cool. I can make a warm wind now and not freeze everyone to death in my sleep.”

Dan stares at Phil and he is a bit scared. He often sleeps with Phil and he never thought of it, but what if he really can freeze him? Sometimes, their duvet would feel icy in the morning, but Dan has never noticed. He is warm, he is fire, he doesn’t feel cold and he can sleep without a duvet even in winter. Phil has always warmed himself up by touching Dan, hiding his toes under Dan’s legs or pressing his cold hands to his stomach. What if all of that is dangerous and Phil can send him to eternal sleep? Dan shivers.

“I hope you won’t. I don’t want to die as a child,” He smiles, but tensely. They fall silent again, but it is uncomfortable and they both don’t want to think about long lists in a library. Lists of honour and memory, The Master calls them. There is hardly anyone who has made it to eighteen in these lists.

“I like it though,” Dan says suddenly and Phil glances back at him questionably, “It is like I make you better. I help you. I like it”

Phil nods and rests his head against the wall, closing his eyes. There is a warm hand squeezing his again and he relaxes and bad thoughts go away.

“Only fire can make air warmer,” Phil hears Dan whisper and it feels like a secret. Phil is bad at keeping secrets, he wants to share everything, but he promises to himself he will never reveal this one. He keeps his promise.


	3. Chapter 3

Dan is eight. He sits in Phil's room shared with another four students, two airmen and two watermen. He is in the corner, hidden behind a huge desk, so they won't see him, but Dan knows they know he is here. They don't mind. They understand.

Phil is missing. He has gone to town with some older ones to practice his control more. Today is a festival and people in dark won't notice their powers, at least not instantly. Phil was eager to go out, he hasn't been outside for at least two years and a half and he almost forgot there was a world behind the walls. He promised Dan to bring him something from the ferry and though Dan was nervous, he felt glad for Phil.

It was yesterday when they left. Yesterday morning to be particular, and now it is almost evening. The Master waits for two days to write the names in the Lists. Dan hopes Phil would have time till then, that he would return home, to him. He doesn't think he will be able to see Phil's name among the others. 

Dan presses his knees closer to himself He is sure Phil will come back, he knows it, but everyone seem not so sure and different scary what-ifs fill his mind. He heard whispering between the older ones today about him and Phil and whether they can survive without each other. He has fallen silent as soon as they saw him, but Dan has already heard these talks many times. Even The Master has talked to them, trying to explain that being that close to each other is dangerous. Neither Phil nor Dan listen to him.  
There is a noise in the yard, and in the complete silence of waiting that the cloister is submerged in, the knocking on the door sounds like thunder. Dan gets up instantly and looks through the window. There is no one in the yard, but he knows it is not right. After a moment three of the older ones, Grace, Tom and Ben, appear. They walk cautiously towards the door and Dan feels somebody's hand on his shoulder. He flinches and turns around and sees Chris. Dan relaxes at that moment, and he waits for a joke from Chris, something about sneaking in the olders' bedroom or waiting for Phil as if he was his beloved, but Chris doesn't say anything. It is the scariest thing Chris has ever done.

They watch the yard attentively. Grace and Tom stay at the back and square off, but Ben shifts closer to the door. Dan can see his fists clenching, something Ben only does when he is preparing for their lessons and Dan realises he is preparing himself to fight. Dan catches himself on the thought that he will for the first time see the real fire, the real power, but that is not as exciting as he always thought it would be.

This is not the first time their people are missing. People in dark has improved; they feel their powers better and they have already lost seven people in two months. Children are not allowed to go out anymore and Dan misses outside. He misses the fountain and city and its buzzing life, the market, the ferry. He wonders whether he will ever see that again, but that thought is distant, like it doesn’t even belong to him. He can’t let his eyes go from the yard, where Ben is holding the big iron handle of a giant wooden door.

The sound of the door opening is deafening. Ben does it slowly, leaving only a small gap open at first, but then he opens the door wide, relaxing as if he saw something. Nor Dan neither Chris can see what or who is behind the door, but they watch Grace and Tom, and they seem to be in shock, not in fear. Ben just stands there holding the handle and in the next moment Grace rushes towards someone who is standing behind the door. Everything comes back to life.

Dan is scared. He is afraid to learn who made it to the cloister, because what if it is not Phil and he closes his eyes. Chris squeezes his hand on Dan’s shoulder and Dan wants to cry, but he is grown up enough not to. He steps from the window and turns away, opening his eyes. Chris still looks through the window and there is a silence in the room, long tough seconds of it, when Chris finally turns to Dan and barely whispers.

“It’s him.”

And Dan is overwhelmed. He can’t stand properly and he feels as he will pass out right on the place. He leans on Phil’s bed and inhales deeply. Phil is alive. He might be wounded or sick or hungry, but he is alive, and this is all that matters. Dan looks at the doorway where PJ stands looking at him attentively and he nods.The next moment Dan runs through the doorway, down the infinite staircase and out in the yard. There are Grace, Tom and Ben and there are three survivors from the party. There were ten of them.

Phil stands in front of Grace. She talks to him, asks him questions, but he doesn’t understand and stares blankly in front of him. Dan hides behind a front column, Phil can’t hear him, can’t see him and Dan has time to look at him. His yellow shirt is covered in blood and ripped, his hair is all greasy and muddy, and his trousers have a huge hole on the right leg. Phil is pale, he doesn’t blink and just nods to Grace’s talking. Dan can’t hear what she says, but he can guess she is asking about the others. As if it is not clear.

The other two people, who survived, John and Elisa, both earth people, are holding hands. Ben and Tom try to talk to them, waving hands in front of their faces, but they don't even blink and Dan thanks Gods Phil is stronger than any of them, that he still has bits of sanity. Dan closes his eyes and inhales deeply again. No one knows what people in dark do to them, those who manage to survive or run away are usually so shocked that they can't speak. These poor people commit suicide sometimes or just die in their sleep suffocating. Dan prays Phil will stay alive and sane. He will do anything for it.

He goes out from the column. He walks towards the gate, slowly, in silence and he fights the urge to run. The older ones, Ben, to precise, notice him and he tells Grace something. She turns around and stares in Dan's eyes and there is fear and uncertainty in hers but also hope. Maybe Dan can save Phil from submerging in the white room of unconsciousness. Grace stands up from her knees and takes a step behind Phil, whispering to him in the ear. Dan watches the group of people attentively, walking slowly to them. He wants to run, wants to hug Phil and tell him it’s okay and that he will never ever let him go, but at the same time he hardly manages to walk and the yard has never been that long.   
Dan stops when there is about a meter and a half between him and Phil. The older one watches him a bit blankly and the fear becomes almost visible. What if he won't recognise Dan, what if he will be afraid to ever touch people, what if... There so many thoughts in Dan's head and he wants to cry, but he stops himself. He will be strong for Phil. Dan takes the last four steps towards Phil and there is a moment of hesitation, when he finally hugs him. Phil feels cold, colder than usual, and he smells strange, of blood and dirt. But Dan doesn't flinch back. He presses himself closer to Phil, who is motionless.

Dan doesn't know how much time has passed. Grace has left them to help Ben and Tom, and they just stand there, as if no one exists. Dan almost gives up the thought of Phil being the same and recognising him, when he feels the other one fall on his knees and hug him back. Phil's face is hidden in the crook of Dan's neck and Dan feels his tears, unusually warm. 

Dan knows they are watched. Dozens of eyes watch them through the windows, but he doesn't care. Phil recognized him, he is back, he is safe and alive and they are together again. Nothing else matters.

Grace taps Dan on the shoulder and he raises his head. She, Ben, Tom and John and Elise are leaving the yard, letting them stay alone. Phil notices the other people near him and it feels like he has just woken up from hibernation. Phil stands up and looks at Dan without blinking, when he holds out his hand, which was closed in a fist, all this time. Dan doesn't understand.

"I... promised...” Phil whispers, and opens the fist. There are earrings, small ear buds, red triangles, and Dan remembers the symbol of fire in the ancient book they once found in the library.

"I know, you can't wear them,” Phil continues, “but maybe... on your clothes.."

Dan nods and takes the earbuds from Phil. He presses them in his fist and then the realization comes. Phil was by people in dark, they might have tortured him, tried to kill him, to mutilate him, but he kept the buds for Dan. Dan presses himself closer to him, clenching on his torn shirt. He feels Phil's lips on his head.

"I...” Dan tries to say, but his throat is dry and he is barely hearable. He repeats the try.

"I missed you. I was afraid. Never leave me alone anymore."

Phil nods and whispers, "Never." They part and Dan takes Phil's hand. They go slowly to the entrance and Dan guides Phil to the medicines chamber, where John and Elise are already treated. They still look pale and don’t speak, but it is not that scary because there is a hint of sanity in their eyes. They haven’t parted hands.

After some time, when Phil is washed and his wounds are treated and he has fallen asleep in the medicine chamber, Dan finally leaves his side. He goes to Emma, the water girl, who is the only girl that still likes to play with boys. She is reading on her bed, but when he sees Dan, she gets up immediately. 

"How is…?" she asks, silently.

"Well. They are all good."

She releases the breath she held and sits back on the bed.

"Why are you here?"

"I need help," Dan says and opens his fist. Emma nods and points at the bed with her head. She has had her ears pierced for a long time and she knows what to do. She gets out a needle and gives it to Dan.

"Heat it. I don't have anything better."

Dan takes it and the fire starts to dance on his palms. The needle is almost red from the heat, when Emma takes it. Dan closes his eyes. The pain is intense, but bearable. He doesn't scream or cry. This is for Phil, he thinks and the thought calms him down.

The next day, when Dan sits with Phil on his bed, Phil can't take his look away from his ears. Dan smiles, when he notices the look on Phil's face.

"I will always wear them," he says and Phil closes his eyes, stroking Dan's arm.

"Thank you," Phil whispers as he is falling asleep, Dan lying right beside him.


	4. Chapter 4

Dan is ten. He doesn't remember what day is it today, he doesn't even remember whether the day of his birth has already passed. He just knows that he is of age because he burns.

It is hot inside him and hot outside of him and that heat kills him. He wants to drink, to wash away the infinite warmness, but he knows it is impossible. He is given water. He was even put in a bath filled with ice, but it melted and started to boil after ten minutes. He slightly remembers somebody washing him with a wet cloth, but it didn't work. He needs to reduce the heat himself, but he can't. So Dan just lies there letting the fire, the power, take over his body.

He doesn't know how many days have passed since it began. Dan doesn't even know whether he is still in his room as he hasn't open his eyes since it all started. He is most likely to be in the medicine chamber, but he doesn't care. He just wants everything to stop.

Dan dreams. His dreams are not calm and relieving, they cause him to scream and toss, and they push away all the boundaries between reality and the imaginary world. He sees battles and blood and then flowers and lakes and it's confusing. He doesn't even know why he sees them. He wishes he had someone behind him, near him, he wants Phil to be near, but he surely knows that is impossible because he is dangerous; he can hurt the older one. He doesn't want that.

Sometimes Dan feels better, finally coming to his senses. These periods of consciousness become longer and longer with time and now he can stay awake for more than two hours. He hears people laughing outside the window and some voices behind the door. He never tries to open his eyes because it feels like his eyelids are glued together. And he is afraid he can't see anymore, that his eyeballs boiled off because of heat. That never happened, but he might be unique in some way at least.

He doesn't try to speak either, too afraid to hear his voice, and that's why everyone thinks he is still unconscious. After some time, he starts to move his head and finally dares to open his eyes. He sees some indistinct spots, bright and dull red, yellow and black, and after a moment his sight comes to focus. He is not in his room, but neither is he in the medicine chamber. The room is dull red and there is no light in it, just a strike of light coming from a window by the ceiling. There is not much in the room, the bed he is lying on, small drawers by his side and an armchair right across. There is someone in the armchair, sleeping and Dan recognises Ben's red hair. He tries to get up, but ends up falling back. His lips are dry and he is thirsty, his head swinging.

Ben notices the movement and he immediately rises up from his seat. He hands Dan a glass with some liquid, that is a bit green. 

"Count to five after every gulp," Ben says as Dan brings water to his mouth. Dan tries to drink as much as he can, but Ben takes the glass away.

"Told you. If you drink too fast, you will only want more"

Dan nods and continues drinking at a slower pace. The taste is nice, somewhat flowery and he instantly feels better. When he finishes the glass, Ben places it back on the drawers.

"How..." Dan coughs, his voice a bit hoarse, "How long have I..?"

"Like this? For about ten days. You coped better than we expected. Alex was out for two weeks almost."

"How long... more?" Dan can barely hear his own voice. Ben helps him to sit and takes a wet cloth to blot his face.

"You came to. A good sign which means about two or three days. You need to learn to reduce heat and maybe gain some strength. You are poorly, as you can see."

Dan nods and lies back. Ben sits beside him on the bed. Dan feels tired, but he most certainly doesn't want to sleep. He watches the ceiling, when Ben rises and sits back in the armchair and takes his book.

"Did something happen while I was out?" Dan's voice sounds more confident, but still a bit hoarse.

"Not much,” Ben puts away the book and looks at Dan, "The Master checked on you, but didn't manage to stay more than twenty minutes. He said it's good you were found before you passed out."

Dan shrugs. He doesn't remember anything from his tenth birthday, just some distant voices and cold hand that checked his forehead. 

"Is everything okay?" He asks remembering Phil's birthday, when the wind had blown up all the windows.

"Yeah, mostly. Not that you are the first fire in our cloister. Besides, you remember the date of your birthday. That's useful. Most of us don't, so it’s kinda unexpected. You are lucky, Danny."

Dan rolls his eyes, "Don't even start. You know I hate that."

Ben laughs and Dan smiles in response. Ben has been the only fire adult for years, it must be so good for him to have someone to talk to. Alex, despite being four month older than Dan and becoming the older one earlier didn't quite get along with Ben. They were different, Alex being raised in the cloister since he remembered himself, whereas Ben was like Dan, abandoned as a six-year old child, having memories of his parents and maybe even siblings. It was hard enough to explain, but Dan got it as soon as Ben talked to him alone one night, smelling like spirit that the old man sold right on the corner of the fountain square. Dan sat on the porch, playing with fire on his palm, waiting for Phil to come down to sit with him, when Ben appeared, drunk and staggering. He just sat near Dan and talked and talked and talked, without stopping when Phil came. Dan tried to tell Ben to stop, but Phil then silenced Dan, telling him to listen.

"Sometimes, you just need to talk, no matter what," He said. So they listened and thus their connection based on understanding and sharing began.

Phil. The thought of him makes Dan close his eyes. He doesn't want to seem girly or clingy and ask about the airman, but this is Ben who is beside him and he understands everything without a word. He won't laugh.

"Ben…” Dan's voice is surprisingly quiet. He suddenly realises he is a bit afraid of what Ben might say.

"Yep, dragon boy?"

"It was Phil who found me, wasn't it..?" Dan makes a pause and thinks what he actually should ask, but Ben answers instantly.

"Yes. He is alright now, don't worry."

"What do you mean now?" Dan shifts in bed and sits upright. The thought of possibly harming Phil caused Dan chest aches.

"He was with you at your peak. Nothing serious, but his arms were slightly burnt, because he actually brought you to me. It is all gone now," Ben sits back on the edge of Dan's bed. "You are so lucky. It takes people whole their lives to find someone who would be close to them and you have had it since you were children. " Ben pushes away the wet strand of hair from Dan's forehead. Dan closes his eyes.

"The Master says it's not so good. We are too dependant on each other. But we have no one, but each other in this world!"

"I get it," Dan's eyes are still closed, but he knows Ben is smirking. "The Master means you only well though. It's a cruel world, dragon-boy, at least for us and friendship is a rare gift, especially that close. The Master is just afraid it would be used against you. "  
Dan opens his eyes. He never thought about their future, about the possibilities that await him there. How his kind is nothing and can be easily killed. In their world being attached means giving people in the black another weapon. He doesn't want that to happen to them, but the world without a best friend seems even scarier.

"Can I see him?" Dan asks.

"The Master? I am sure, yes. He will check on you as soon as I tell him the news..."

"No. Phil."

Ben sighs. 

"He is not allowed to. It might be very harmful to him, because you don't have enough control over your powers."

"Oh. But.. Grace let me in, when he was.. you know," Dan looks away from Ben. Grace wasn't particularly happy about Dan visiting, but let him in for twenty minutes a day. 

“Listen, you know it’s dangerous. You only could come in because of Grace and the Master controlling the cold. There were two powerful and able to control people in that room. I won’t manage.”

Dan sighs and nods. They had lectures about this, their own physiology and compatibility with other people. Not that Dan understood most of the biology and anatomy, but the basics were clear enough. His body is a constant source of heat, his most comfortable surroundings should be warm, everything cold that touch him would cause him pain. It has never happened when Phil’s hands touched him though and they both didn’t quite get the reason why and the Master’s explanations only made the whole concept more confusing. Both boys decided not to care about it anymore.

“You should rest,” Ben says again and sits back in his armchair “Try not to fall asleep, though, you need to stay awake as long as possible.”

“Can you distract me then?” The thought of falling back asleep sounds so nice, but he believes Ben. He has already been through it, he surely knows better.

“Yeah, of course. Tell me what you saw in your dreams. I will tell what it means.” Ben smiles and rubs his hands. Dan smiles too and starts talking, laughing as Ben comes up with the most ridiculous meanings for his dreams. Dan doesn’t tell the scariest parts as even the slightest thought of fields filled with blood and bodies make him shiver. He tells about meadows full of yellow and violet and pink flowers and animals that are incredibly large or unbelievably small and come in different colours. He goes on for at least half an hour, when Ben tells him to drink more of that green-y liquid that seems to be a herbal drink. Ben leaves him, promising Dan to be back as soon as possible, with the Master comes to check up on him. Dan nods slightly and tries to stay focused, but his eyelids feel incredibly heavy and no more than five minutes pass when Dan is already asleep, calmly, without dreams.

When he wakes up he sees Ben again who stands at the door, speaking with somebody. When Dan tries to sit up, the bed squeaks and Ben turns around, slamming the door behind him.

“Awake, dragon-boy?” He smirks and Dan rubs his eyes. He does feel so much better now and he nods to Ben, trying to realise how long he was asleep this time. Ben walks towards him and sits on the bedside, putting his hand on Dan’s forehead. 

“Better now, yeah?”

“Yeah, much,” Dan smiles. “Did the Master come?”

“Yes. Didn’t see much of you though, as somebody was back to gigantic yellow rabbits,” Ben smirks, but then looks at the door, concern showing on his face.

“Promise you won’t tell anyone, okay?” He asks in a whisper.

“Tell what?” Dan frowns and Ben looks back at him.

“That I did this. Nobody should know,” Ben says as he moves to the door and opens it slightly. He then stares behind, at someone who is waiting there, Dan realises.

“You have fifteen, twenty minutes tops,” Ben says to this someone and opens door wider and mysterious person enters the room. Phil.

He looks a bit different, his usual yellow tunic is held by a belt and he has dark under his eyes. His hair ruffled and a bit greasy and he doesn’t look at Dan at first, staring at the floor. Phil steps a bit closer to Dan’s bed and Ben moves aside.  
“Don’t touch. This still could be dangerous,” Ben says and makes two steps back in the further corner of the room. Phil now looks at Dan and Dan can’t take his eyes away from Phil. He never thought he could miss him that much.

“Hi. How are you?” Phil asks and sits on the bedside. Dan shifts in the bed to sit more comfortably and smiles a bit.

“Nice. Better now.”

“Good. I was worried,” Phil smiles back. His eyes are shifting from the deep blue to icy and back and Dan realises that it takes him a lot of concentration to stay in here. He wonders whether his eyes can change colour now too.

“Sorry about your hands.”

“It’s okay. Didn’t hurt that long. Ama was angry though,” They both laugh remembering the owner of the shop where Phil works. He makes the best flutes, panflutes and svirels and having his hand hurt meant the lack of job. 

“How are you then?” Dan asks and Phil shifts closer to him. He remembers Ben’s words about touching and although he wants to hug Dan or hold his hand so much he doesn’t do any of that. Rules are rules.

“Okay. Missed you. Had a lot of work. Was nearly caught the other day, but Ama didn’t give me away.” Phil notices the concerned look at Dan’s face and smiles. “Nothing serious. Just the usual checks. Ama loves me ,or at least, my instruments. She won’t betray us or the Master.”

Dan nods and closes his eyes. He wants to tell Phil so much, wants to ask him so much, as if a whole year passed and not two weeks.

“Did you see dragons by the way? While you were asleep?”

Dan laughs and shakes his head no. He was so sure he would see one, but no, only motley mammals. 

“I saw you though. You were much older, all cool and dressed in black, and you had some cool blades,” Dan says and Phil shivers a bit at the mention of colourless clothes. Black colour is only for the gendarmery.

“Did you see yourself too?” Phil asks as he watches Dan’s eyes shifting colour. 

“No. Only you,” Dan looks away and glances at his hands, crossed over the blanket. 

“Thank you,” Phil whispers and Dan nods slightly. “You know your eyes are changing. They are gold now, but like a moment ago they were dark dark brown. Really beautiful.”

Dan doesn’t look at Phil, staring at his hands. He feels a small blush on his cheeks. He then hears a cough from the corner and looks up at Ben.

“Guys, I am sorry, but I won’t manage longer. I overestimated my powers a bit.”

Phil smiles at Dan and leans towards him, so he won’t be heard by Ben.

“Come back. I miss you a lot. I am so cold at night,” Phil then stands up and turns to Ben, nodding at him. He walks through the door and stops in the doorway, glancing back at Dan.

“Get better soon, yeah?” 

“Of course.”

When Phil leaves and closes the door, Ben sits back in his chair and looks at Dan, who is squeezing the blanket in his hands. He smiles fondly and opens his book.

“You are lucky,” Ben mutters almost soundlessly, but Dan hears him anyway.

“I know,” he says and closes his eyes. He sees colourful spots and lines and he feels calm and safe for the first time in ten days.


	5. Chapter 5

Dan is twelve. It is autumn and a usual day for everyone at the cloister. Dan wakes up before sunrise, climbing out of the bed, trying not to wake up Phil, who sleeps with him this night. Some people tried to mock them about it as they are both older ones, but Phil has clearly showed them that it is better not to say anything about an older airman.

Their days are similar to one another. Phil still works at Ama’s and Dan works at blacksmith' now. The owner, Steven, is an old acquaintance of the Master and he is one of the town citizens, who give inhabitants of the cloister shelter and place to work. Dan is still surprised that so many people help them, but when he asked Steven about it, the blacksmith just shrugged his shoulders. 

"I don't care about people. I'm not scared of you or Thomas. As long as you work good and respect the forge, I will help you"

Dan likes working. He isn't allowed to make armory or serious orders, but he helps with those often and sometimes makes minor work on his own, like weathercocks and locks and horseshoes. He spends most of the time inside, near the heat and Steven laughs at him, but says nothing. 

"You are an actual reptile, aren't you?" 

Ben has worked with Steven before, but now he is mostly around the Master, reading books and teaching Dan, Alex and Carrie new tricks. The Master showed them a nice open place, not far from the cloister and protected by spells, where they can finally be themselves and set themselves free. The wasteland is big and surrounded by branchy dead trees. They do well with their practice and Dan can finally say that he is a proper firebender, making fire listen to him and obey. Steven has forbidden him to use his powers in the forge though.

Dan spends most of his days inside, near the forge and fire, not seeing the sky the whole day apart from the evening when Phil calls for him and they walk back to the cloister. Today is strangely different - there is no much work and Steven sets him free early. Not that Dan isn’t happy about it, but he has completely no idea what to do, so he just walks to the fountain and sits on its side, watching the younger ones play. Some of them see him and wave their hands at him and he just nods. It is funny how eight years ago he was among them and became apart of that strange new world. Dan looks around cautiously - in case, there are some abandoned children, but today it is just the cloister kids and Dan smiles. Phil has once said that Ama said that many parents now don’t abandon their children. It is all just rumours, and Dan is sceptical about it - in the last month they got five new children, one left at the doorstep of the cloister, others found in the city. Dan feels sorry for them and in the same time is relieved. They have a chance to live a life. Those who are found by the gendarmery haven’t.

Dan watches the children play a bit more and then decides to go to Phil’s. Phil usually works whole days now that he not only makes woodwinds, but also carved toys and decorations. Dan likes to watch him and Phil doesn’t mind as long as Dan doesn't interrupt him. Ama isn’t exactly happy about the visits, though they are pretty rare, but still lets Dan sit and watch.

The streets are empty as they should be as it’s middle of the working day. However, something makes Dan unusually worried about the fact and takes him at least three minutes to understand - there is no one from the gendarmery.

There aren’t many on the streets on a usual day - one, two in the worst case on every street. They don’t do much - just watch the passers-by and sometimes talk to citizens. They are not allowed to use physical power against anybody, but Dan knows they still do. The gendarmery doesn’t attack in the daylight, in crowded places. They act like the worst of the criminals, waiting until a person is alone and helpless. Those who are found or suspected guilty are usually beaten up, the case rarely goes to the actual court. But not with Dan’s kind. They are taken and never seen again. They are said to be tortured and examined and Dan shrugs when the image of ten-year-old Phil comes to his mind. Phil was lucky that time. Many others weren’t.

Dan increases his temperature. He doesn’t run yet, but he is close to it and he tries to concentrate on his breathing instead of thinking. Annoying what if’s fill his mind and he tries to brush them away. Phil is the only bender in this area. Apart from that, he has an incredible feeling of justice and equality in him, which doesn’t make the situation better - even if the gendarmery isn’t after him particularly, he will get in the conflict. 

One more turn to the wavy street and Dan sees a crowd. It is not too large, but it’s pretty noisy and he prays to all the Gods, that it won’t be Phil who’s in the middle. Dan pushes through the crowd and sighs. It is.

He stands there, ready to fight, but without attacking. Dan watches Phil for a second - fists clenched, knees bent a little and his eyes icy-blue. Dan steps beside him within a moment, without thinking and takes a look at those opposing Phil. There are three of them, all gendarmery, and Dan takes his guard. Phil nods without even looking at him, he knows it’s Dan. The onlookers make a circle around and Dan suddenly becomes aware of the chanting. They shout something like “Fuck off” and “Leave them alone” and “Get them” and he doesn’t understand who they are addressed to. All that matters is he is beside Phil, who is most likely protecting someone, and their opponents are the soldiers.

Neither of the opponents move for a minute or maybe longer. One of the gendarmeries makes a slight movement and Dan feels how tense Phil is. He looks at the people in front of him and the realisation hits him - they are not the higher ranks, they are the usual patrol, which means they are Phil’s age. It makes it only better. They wouldn’t win against three adults, but they stood a chance against three teens. 

Suddenly, the chants and whispers stopped. Phil moves his head and Dan follows his gaze and they see Grace and Tom who run towards them. Dan has no time to realise what’s happening, until he feels Tom’s hand on his shoulder.

“Sorry guys, but we need those lads. No fight today, okay?”

Dan almost feels Tom’s smile. He looks at Phil and sees him whispering something to Grace. She nods and walks in the direction of Ama’s workshop. Phil then turns to Dan.

“We should leave” he mouths and Dan looks up at Tom. They all turn around to walk away when one of the gendarmery shouts at them.

“Fucking telltales. Always hiding behind you mummies and daddies.”

Phil has seconds to catch Dan’s hand. Everybody freezes and Dan prays he had no time to shoot. This would be hard to explain, but Phil seems to be faster - Tom glares at him accusingly and Grace sighs, but there is no screams and the people - boys - in the black just smirk. Dan releases his hand from Phil’s grip and walks forward to Grace. She is sitting on her knees in front of the boy - six or seven years old. He covers his face with his hands and sobs. Grace tries to calm him down and make him speak; he just continues to cry. She looks up at boys and shakes her head.

“His name is Will,” Phil says “He is one of ours. Water.”

Grace takes Will’s hands in hers tries to push them away from his face. His eyes are red and puffy from crying and he has a lilac bruise on his cheek. He sobs quietly know, avoiding Grace’s sight.

“Hey, Will. I am Grace. I am air. And this is Dan, Phil and Tom. They are fire, air and earth. We won’t hurt you.We are the same.”

The boy stops crying and finally looks up. He seems a bit out of place, but still nods at every Grace’s sentence.

“Do you have someone? Parents or siblings?”

Will shakes his head and Dan grips his teeth. There are way too many orphans in the last few times. Or maybe he has just started to pay attention to it. He feels Phil’s hand in his.

“Do you have anyone who you can go to?”

Will shakes his head no.

“Do you want to eat?”

Will nods.

“You come with us then.”

Will nods once again and Tom kneels in front of him and takes him in his arms and the boy immediately curls up. He is visibly shaking and Dan can’t help but feels pity to him.

“Are you guys going?” Grace asks them and Phil, to Dan’s surprise, just shakes his head.

“I need to finish my work. I run out without a word, Ama must be angry.”

“What happened?” Grace moves her head to the side and Phil shrugs his shoulders.

“The usual. They thought he was a bender and started calling him names and then one of them just hit him. The people in the street just watched and I couldn’t, so…”

“How did you know his name?” Phil looks away from Grace and stares at his feet.

“He visits the workshop from time to time. Just watches and stuff. Ama said his mum is a bender too, so I knew it.”

Grace nods and turns around, following Tom to the cloister.

“Please be home early today,” she says and both Dan and Phil respond with “sure” at the same time.

In the late evening both Dan and Phil sit in their room. They lie on the bed, Dan on his side and Phil on his back. PJ sits on the opposite bedroom and Chris sits on the floor, his back pressed against Dan and Phil’s bed.

“They hit a child. No matter who he was or wasn’t, but they hit a child!” Phil had been ranting for almost a half an hour. He is angry and wants revenge. 

“You know how it is, Phil,” PJ says. He makes water from his water bottle adjust to different shapes as he talks. He doesn’t even look up, ”It’s their world, not ours.”

“But a child, Peej, a child. He is six years old!”

“Nobody cares how old he is if he is a bender,” Chris says, ”’Benders are dangerous. They must die,’” he recites the speech of the counsellor. 

“But a child!” Phil repeats. “What if it was their child? Or their brother?”  
“You know actually that Charlie’s brother is a gendarmery?” PJ looks up from his water and stares at Phil, ”They don’t care.They would hit him even if he was their sibling.That’s our world.”

“I don’t like this world,” Dan suddenly says and Phil almost jumps because he’s thought that Dan has been long asleep. “One of them called us mummy’s sons today. Do they actually know that we don’t have parents? That we are alone apart from other children who are like us?” Dan shifts on the bed and sits up, “I mean, it’s not honest. We are those with powers. Why do we suffer?”

“If this would be that easy, Dan...” Chris shakes his head.

“But he is right,” Phil says. ”We have the powers. It’s us who should be on top. We can kill them. We can fight them and we should fight them. We _must_ fight them.”

PJ looks away from Phil and stares at the candle.

“We are not supposed to start a war. We are the minority; we have no power at all. What can we do, start a rebellion?” He asks. The fire on the candle is a bit unstable and PJ looks up at Dan, who looks away.

“Why not?” Phil says quietly and everyone looks at him. “We could start a war and fight for us and our future.”

“That sounds ridiculous,” Chris points out. ”And way too heroic.”

“I agree with Phil, actually. We must fight” Dan says. ”It isn’t a normal life for a human being.”

“You always agree with him,” PJ says. “This might sound good in words, but they’re just words. Just pointless dreams. We will live and die hiding.”

“We will see,” Phil says.

Dan would always remember this evening and Phil’s words. He wonders whether Phil could see the future.


	6. Chapter 6

Dan is fourteen. It is a winter night and wind is blowing hard, causing all the windows in the cloister to creak. He can’t fell asleep and he just listens to noise of the cloister and Phil’s breathe next to him. The others in the room seem to sleep soundly too and Dan moves in his bed. The nightmares are common among them, and nobody wakes up when they hear strange noise at night.

The wild outside tries to prove that it’s the most powerful on earth and Dan listens to the cold wind growl and rage outside. He thinks of Phil who grows stronger and stronger from day to day as they practise. He wonders whether Phil can do a wind that powerful and that cold. Dan stopped watching him train about a year ago, because the Master said that Dan blocks Phil and his potential. Phil just thinks that the Master is trying to separate them.

All of sudden, an unusual sound arises from outside. Dan doesn’t understand what it is, just low noises that grow louder and louder as time passes. He rises from the bed and watches through the window - luckily it’s turned to the street. He sees nothing at first, but then the light flickers on the walls and the noise gets louder and louder so Dan can make out voices and drums and he realises the time has come for what the feared most. An attack.

Dan rushes to their bed. Phil wakes up as soon as Dan touches his shoulders, eyes not fully open, trying to grasp what’s happening.

“They are coming,” Dan whispers and Phil gets up immediately. They wake up Chris and PJ and dress as fast as they can. When Dan opens their door finally, he sees some younger ones in the corridor.

“What’s happening, Phil?” one of the younger ones, Ellie, walks to them, rubbing her eyes sleepily. Phil kneels in front of her.

“We should go, sweet. Wake up the others and take only what you need.”

The girl nods and Dan turns to Phil.

“The Master and the others should be awake. We need to go to them.”

“Yeah,” Phil nods “Go. I will stay with the children.”

“But...”

“No buts, Dan, we should hurry, go!” Phil says in his quiet commanding voice and Dan runs to the lower storey. Chris follows him. PJ seems to stay with Phil and helps him.

The second floor is awake too, with Jack, Dean and Tom collecting the children. Dan raises his hand and Tom responds him likewise, signing that they have it under control.

“Do you think they will actually attack this time?” Chris asks as they run to the ground floor. Dan grips his teeth and says nothing.

The attacks on people and children increased. All the suspects were taken to court and it rarely occurred that they were released without punishment. Many people who gave shelter and work to the inhabitants of the cloister were imprisoned, Ama and Steven were no exception. Many benders lost their jobs and in the night a group of people gather sometimes and just stare at the windows. It’s been creepy, but that’s all. They still managed to leave the cloister and work part-time and exist. Three or four days ago, the Master gathered all the older ones that still lived in the cloister and said that the attack was planned. The preparation started and it was known to come, but nobody knew the exact time: apparently tonight.

Downstairs Grace, the Master and Charlie stand. They discuss something, but Dan can’t understand a word as the blood pumps in his ears. After a second, his hearing comes back to him.

“What are we doing?” he asks and all three turn around at him. Charlie looks at him a bit sceptically, but says nothing.

“We should escape,” the Master says “No fight, just escape as soon as we can. How long would it take to wake up the others?”

“Everybody is already up,” Chris says, ”We said to gather at the library.”

“Good,” the Master nods, “Be ready to defend. Get to the library. I will be right after. Charlie, you go with them. I will talk to Grace alone.”

They nod and move to the library. It isn’t exactly a library, but all the books and studies are held there so the name just stuck. The builders of the cloister placed one of many hidden escapes behind the sidewall of the room and that is the exit the Master has planned to use.

The drumming noise grows louder and louder until it’s almost deafening and Dan fights the urge to cover his ears. There are youngsters in front of the library’s door and Dan instinctively looks for Phil in the crowd. The airbender stays close to the door, watching and counting the kids. Dan catches his sight and Chris nods at him.

“Go. You are better together than alone.”

Dan starts to move towards the door, blaming the noise outside and looking at the children, checking his acquaintances. Will, Emma, Ellie, Ben, Carrie, Alex, Jack, Marta, Dean, Tom, Charlie. It seems almost everyone is there and he smiles to himself. They would make it out alive. And the moment he thinks the drumming stops and instead a loud crash is heard and the walls around them collapse. And the only thought left in Dan’s mind is, “They found the passage.”

He gets up as soon as he can, which seems to be some minutes. Dan is deafened and everything around him is filled with dust, so he can’t see. He tries to say or shout something, but he doesn’t even hear himself. The moments later the dust is cleared and Dan sees Phil in front of him. He has a large gash across his brow, but he can stand which is a plus. Three children, who stayed close to him, seem unable to even move.

Dan looks around, his hearing slowly comes back to him. Most of those who stood behind are alright, some cuts and bruises. The people, who stood closer to the door seem to be more affected, some of them just lie there motionless. Dan bits his lip and hopes for the best. 

Carrie and Emma move closer to the destroyed wall, but Tom stops them. The drumming gets louder and the people in the black will be there soon. Tom, Jack and Dean step forward.

“We will block the way, but if they exploded it once, they will do it again.” Tom says. “Is there anyone who lives?” 

Phil kneels in front of the second girl and Dan notices it’s Ellie. Phil raises his head and waves his hand to Dan. He rushes to him and kneels beside Ellie. She breathes, but her eyes are closed. He takes her in his arms and moves to the other side of the corridor. Behind him Phil follows with Marta. Another boy, an earthboy, Jaimie it seems, didn’t make it. Dan tries not to think about it.

As Dan gets to the other wall, he looks around. Everyone gathers behind him, holding and helping each other. He can’t tell whom they left behind, apart from the younger earth bender, but he hopes they haven’t lost many. They are all a big family and it would hurt a lot if they lose anybody. He stops and thinks for a second where should they go, when Phil appears right beside him.

“Is the way to the wasteland still there?” Phil asks and Dan nods. 

“It would be dangerous.” Dan says calmly. Panic is his worst enemy now.

“We don’t have a choice, actually. Lead us.”

Dan tries to walk as fast as it is possible for a person with a girl in his arms. His mind tries to process faster, remembering the route to the way to the wasteland. Since the laws became more heavily enforced, they didn’t use it much, but all the firebenders went there from time to time. Dan is still the youngest among them and he remembers words the Master once said to them - they are rare and therefore very useful to the gendarmery. 

The procession reaches the stairs to the passage, when Dan hears the drumming again and they exchange looks with Phil. The attackers are already in the cloister. He notices Jack and then Dean, but there is no sign of Tom. If they need to fight to save the others… Phil shakes his head as if he reads Dan’s mind.

“Don’t you dare...” Phil tries to say, but Dan already passes over Ellie to Charlie and turns to the others.

“Run this way. The road is pretty long, but you will escape to the wasteland which is protected. There are woods nearby, hide there. We will come back later and then will decide what to do.”

Dan is surprised that his voice doesn’t shake. He walks through the crowd and Ben and Alex follow him. The firebenders are the most useful in wars and battles, as they can destroy easily. They walk slowly to the main corridor and Dan takes a sneak peek round the corner. When he returns back in place, he sees Phil and Chris.

“You didn’t think I would leave you. Did you?” Phil says and Dan smiles, shaking his head. He secretly hoped Phil would stay with the children, but it’s Phil. He would never leave him.

“What should we do?” Alex asks and Dan suddenly realises they are listening to him and his orders. It feels strange as he is the youngest in the group, but he doesn’t let himself to think about it long. He tells them his plan instead and they listen carefully. They have no room for mistakes.

Chris raises some blocks to create a cover and Phil makes the wind with rock powder and dust. The group hides behind the cover and Dan watches Phil bending. He missed it; the way Phil’s body is moving and his eye colour changes to the icy-blue. When the dust screen is up, the drumming and steps stop. They wait for a little while and then Dan nods “now” and all three firebenders shoot their streams of fire. The screams are heard, but Dan doesn’t care. He sees nothing but glows of light and he doesn’t know whether it’s their fire or the attackers’. They attack in a row, with small intervals and the corridor is full of screams. Soon, nothing is heard, but moans. Dan just continues to shoot fire in their direction: on and on.

Ben catches his hand. They definitely have stopped their enemy, at least for now. Dan turns to Phil and something inside him breaks. Phil steps closer to him and hugs him, and Dan realises that he is shaking severely. He isn’t afraid to seem weak now, he probably burnt almost ten people to death. Dan feels tears on his cheeks.

“Are you alright?” Phil asks.

Dan says nothing. He feels strange as some seconds he wasn’t himself. It scares him, but he feels lighter than he ever has. He lets go of Phil.

“We should go.”

The others nod and Chris creates a wall, blocking the way to the further parts of the cloister.

They run to the escape and Dan is relieved to see the attackers didn’t go there. They run down the stairs and everyone fights the urge to look around. They all think about those who stayed in the cloister. 

When they finally reach the exit to the wasteland, they see that everybody has already left for the woods. Chris looks at the exit and then at Dan and Phil.

“Should we...you know…block it?” he asks and Dan and Phil exchange looks. Phil then turns to Chris and nods.

“It would be safer. If somebody lives, they would find a way.”

Chris creates a barrier out of nowhere. They stare at it for a moment and then run to the forest edge. They walk through the forest, when finally seeing a fire and the others. Luckily, most of them took warm clothes. They won’t freeze to death and that’s the first good news today. 

The newcomers sit down though Dan and Phil remain standing. Phil counts everybody and checks them in his head. Dan tries not to think about anything, but the thoughts fill his mind. He takes Phil hand and he squeezes it lightly. Dan feels safer.

“Grace, Tom, Jaime, the Master.” Phil whispers, ”Not so much for an accidental attack.”

“Yeah,” Dan whispers back. He feels strange as if it is not the real world. It’s not fear, it’s more of confusion. He lost people who were his parents and friends. He hurt people, maybe even killed people. The realisation hadn’t hit him yet, but he was close to it.

“We should rest. You should rest.” Phil says and Dan just nods. He isn’t one to argue with Phil. He sits down by the tree and just stares in front of him, watching Phil giving commands. Dan closes his eyes. 

He opens them after what feels like five minutes, but the light already comes through the trees’ crowns. His head is in Phil’s lap and he tries to shift so he won’t wake him up, but then notices that Phil isn’t asleep. Phil looks at him.

“Awake, huh?”

“Yeah,” Dan says, raising his head from Phil’s lap. ”How the night was?”

“Calm. It’s alright.”

“Didn’t you freeze?” Dan asks, nodding at Phil’s light clothes. They both leave in a hurry and had no time to get their coats. Dan is alright as his body is a heater but Phil could be cold.

“I am good. I am warm from you,” Phil smiles, but the smile feels forced.

Dan looks away. 

“You know, we could be caught. Separated. I will probably never see you again.”

“Stop,” Phil cuts him off. “It didn’t happen. I will never leave, remember?”

Dan nods and places his head on Phil’s shoulder. He smirks a bit.

“It’s funny, you know. I could have died four hours ago.”

“I said, stop.”

“I just meant… you know, I always thought it was more likely to kiss someone than to kill at my age.”

“We’re different. The statistics and probability doesn’t work with us.” Phil say and they both laugh. It’s tensed, but Dan feels easier. He almost feels peaceful here, in the middle of the winter forest, running away from the gendarmery, with fifteen unprotected kids.

He doesn’t expect Phil to do what he does in the next moment. His hands feel cold as always, but Dan is more surprised with how Phil’s lips feel - cold and dry, they are pressed to his chapped, and Dan closes his eyes. He actually feels at peace now.

Phil moves away a bit, but his face is still close to Dan’s and Dan can feel Phil’s cold breathe. He opens his eyes and sees Phil’s. 

“I thought,” Phil starts and then coughs. ”I thought,” He repeats, ”I would make the probabilities equal.”

Dan brings his fingers to his lips and smiles lightly. 

“Thank you.” he whispers and then smiles wider. “Is it a single instance or..?”

“We will see,” Phil says and they both laugh.

They both would return to that morning many times in their thoughts and dreams, but none of them would regret it. Because it wasn’t a single instance.


	7. Chapter 7

Dan is sixteen. He sits on his bed in the shabby abandoned building and stares through a small greasy window. He waits for Phil to come and announce the news they waited for so long.

The door to their room opens and Phil just stays in the doorway. Dan doesn’t turn back to look at him.

“Well,” Phil starts, but Dan doesn’t move, scared of overreacting. He has already lost his control once and Phil need treatment for facial burns. “They want to see us both. They want to talk to all the leaders, but everybody said we should go. Lord awaits us in an hour in his residence.”

Dan sighs and turns around. 

“Do you need to change?” he asks and Phil shakes his head. He sits beside Dan and they both look in each other’s eyes. 

“Do they believe us? I mean, Ben and everybody…” Dan asks and Phil shrugs his shoulders.

“They recognise us as leaders. We have made decisions for everyone; we have protected everyone. We have the right to be leaders, even if you don’t think so.”

Dan sighs and puts his head on Phil’s shoulder and Phil turns his head and kisses his temple.

“We should be off soon.” Dan says and stands up. He grabs his clasp-glaive from the corner and watches Phil placing his karambits behind his belt.

“Do you think they will take it from us?” Dan asks, fastening the glaive on his back.

“We won’t let them.”

They walk out of the building and walk down the city’s streets. This city is like many others they have been to in these last two years. They have wandered, not staying for longer than two month in any town. Some of them parted, as Alex and Carrie, some decided to stay. There are around fifteen of them now and most of them are the youngers. Dan and Phil were chosen as informal leaders. And now they are deciding the future.

The Lord is the famous politician. Was at least, the people say. They say also that he has power and money and once wanted to make a coupe - his fail lead him to exile in this remote city.Two days ago two of his servants came to Phil and offered help. Dan and Phil were given two days to think over and now they are coming to the Lord’s residence to state their decision they haven’t actually taken.

The Lord’s residence is on the outskirts of the city. A large mansion with numerous quantity of rooms and servants. The citizens have a lot of legends about the house, but none of them proved them true. 

As Dan and Phil enter the house, the servants surround them and see them to the Lord’s cabinet. The Lord appears to be a middle-aged man. He wears a black robe with rich ornament and Dan can hardly contain himself from laughter as the man seems to wear slippers. A serious meeting that will decide the future of his people, and it’s held by a person in slippers.

The Lord nods to them a greeting, but Dan and Phil stay motionless. The politician sits in the big chair, leg over leg, and places his hands in the lock.

“So,” he says and Dan feels shivers down his spine from his high-pitched voice. ”I have heard about you. The powerful ones, huh?” He tilts his head and Dan regrets coming here. No matter how powerful this person is, he is nothing. They can survive without him. 

“Yes,” Phil’s voice makes Dan come to his senses and he straightens himself up.

“So if you bear power, why do you come to me, the poor powerless?”

Dan steps forward and opens his mouth to say that it was the Lord who called in the first place, but Phil’s hand stops him.

“The power can be different and our kind, unfortunately, doesn’t have the power we need.” Phil’s speech is calm, but Dan feels the light cold breeze and he knows what this means. If the Lord would continue speak like this, the whole mansion risks to be blown away.

“Well, I am in the same situation, my boys.” The temperature in the room gets even colder and Dan concentrates to raise it up. They can’t seem thoughtless and quick-tempered.

“So what is your offer?” Dan asks and his voice sounds surprisingly strong and loud. He wonders whether Phil has this influence over him.

“What is your offer, _sir_?” the Lord corrects him and Dan holds out his hand and lights a fire.

“Excuse me, but I could burn down you and this whole mansion. I won’t call you sir.” He says. The Lord raises from his seat and smirks.

“Oh, you have character. I like it!” he walks around the table and gets closer to Dan. The firebender puts the fire away, but the Lord shakes his head.

“Oh no, I want to touch it.” he tilts his head and smiles and Dan can see that half of his teeth are golden. “Can I touch it?”

“It’s hot. It’s real fire,” Dan says, but then feels Phil’s hand in his.

“But there is a way to touch it without burning...” Phil says and nods to Dan. He lights the fire again and the Lord touches the flames with his little finger and gasps in amazement.

“How..?” he asks and Phil puts away his hand from Dan’s. The flames go out for a second and then come back, in their full force, burning the Lord’s finger.

“We know some tricks,” Phil says. “So, what’s the offer?”

The Lord blows on his little finger but his sight is still full with amusement. He walks back to his table, but doesn’t sit.

“My offer is simple. I give you and your people shelter and food and weapons,” the Lord makes a pause and stops his sight at Dan’s glaive. “In return, you will be my army. You see, I am not exactly a fan of modern counsellor as he is a complete idiot and tries to destroy this country. So I want to be a counsellor. Or at least a grey eminence as I have a wonderful nephew, who is a perfect candidate to be a counsellor. So power for power is my offer.”

Dan and Phil exchange looks. They have discussed it, they have know what the offer could be and they were partially ready. But they haven’t decided yet, though both of them understand what they need to do. Phil turns back to the Lord.

“How long do we have to think?” he asks and the Lord’s smile gets wider and more terrifying.

“I will give you twenty-four hours. Until then be my guests.” the Lord claps his hands and the servants appear again. They show Dan and Phil the exit to the main hall, when Phil turns around.

“We have a party of twenty people. We will only stay if they can come.”

“Oh, of course,” the Lord sighs and waves his hand at one of the servants “Bring the friends of these young men here.”

The servant rushes through the door and almost leaves the house when Dan calls to him.

“Take this,” he says and throws the small wooden figure of the dragon Phil gave him for his fifteenth birthday. ”Ask for Ben or PJ and show it to them. Say you are from Dan and Phil.”

The servant nods and goes out of the door.

This evening they sit in a rich dining room with warm dishes served to them. They have the possibility to eat and drink as much as they want and everybody smiles and laughs and jokes around. Dan can’t help smiling and Phil’s eyes glow with happiness and in that moment they realise the decision is almost made. They would do anything for their family and their happiness. After the dinner every member of the party gets a shared bedroom with clean sheets and warm blankets. Some children come to Phil and Dan’s room to say goodnight and they keep smiling. When they finally alone, sharing the bed, Dan’s head is on Phil’s chest and Phil’s arm is around Dan’s shoulder. 

“This could be our life, you know.” Dan whispers as he draws mysterious patterns on Phil’s chest. “Food, sleep. I missed it.”

“Not for long though,” Phil says and shifts a little, ”Being an army we would need to live in tents and hold battles. The children would be sent to the battlefield as soon as they are ten.”

“We can have this sorted. For example, don’t touch those who are under fourteen.”

Phil shifts out of Dan’s touch and sits up in the bed. He doesn’t look at the firebender.

“They still may be killed. And tortured. And hurt. They are children, Dan, we cannot sentence them to that fate, they..”

“They what?” Dan interrupts Phil sharply and sits up too. ”They would hide their whole life. This is our chance for war, for battle, remember? A revolution for our kind?”

“Yeah. But times have changed. We have changed. We are responsible for their future and their lives, Dan. Their deaths would be on our hands.”

“Nothing has changed. We are still dirt,” Dan sighs and gets up and puts on his shirt. Phil raises his head and follows him with eyes.

“Where are you going?” he asks watching Dn taking the glaive from the corner.

“Thinking,” Dan says and quits their room. He knows that the mansion has a garden with much space in it. He would have enough time and place to think.

His glaive is opened and he starts his exercises. Swings, hits and lunges. His mind seems clear now and he concentrates on his moves only. He feels tears on his cheeks but doesn’t stop for a second. After what feels like an hour he hears a noise and Dan instantly takes his guard. He turns around and sees Phil. In the moonlight his pale skin almost glows and Dan can’t take away his look from him.

“Are you finished with thinking?” Phil says, quietly but loud enough for Dan to hear. Dan nods and comes closer to him. 

“I just…” Dan says, without looking in Phil’s eyes. “You know, I just thought, they could have a better future. Not these children, but their kids. Maybe our kind has a chance.”

“We have a chance, Dan. I think…” Phil stutters a bit and starts over “I think, we should accept it.”

Dan makes a step closer and hugs Phil as tight as he can. He isn’t tall enough and Phil’s chin is on on top of his head. Dan wants to shout because this is a serious decision they make and he isn’t old enough and he doesn’t want others to suffer because of him. But he just presses himself closer to Phil and feels his hands on the small of his back and they just stay there in the moonlight, so close. Dan hears Phil whisper “I love you” and clutches Phil’s shirt tighter in his hands. He wants to be closer to Phil, as much as he can possible be and as they part, he presses his lips against Phil’s. 

“I love you,” Dan whispers back. He can’t take away his eyes from Phil and then whispers what he doesn’t expect himself to say. ”I want you. I want us.”

Phil seems to be a bit shocked at first and Dan wants to get his words back, but Phil kisses him again, pressing him tighter to himself. Dan feels warm against Phil’s skin, warmer than he has ever felt and Dan smiles into their kiss.

“We should go,” He says as they part and Phil takes his hand as they walk back to their room. Once inside Phil kisses Dan again and they move to their bed slowly, stumbling and undressing each other. Dan’s skin is still a bit wet and salty from the exercises and Phil can’t stop himself from sucking on it and leaving a mark. He lays Dan on his bed, lying on top of him and kissing his clavicle. He climbs up to reach Dan’s ear.

“Are you sure?” he whispers and Dan nods, his eyes closed. “There will be no way back, you know?”

Dan nods again and opens his eyes, meeting Phil’s sky blue. 

“I won’t regret choices I’ve done today. Neither tomorrow, nor ever.” Dan says and Phil lowers himself on his body again. Dan feels nice and hot and soft and Phil can’t stop touching him. He feels Dan’s hard cock on his leg and the thought of it makes him moan.   
Phil guides his hands to Dan’s member and the slightest touch makes Dan moan. He feels bliss and almost drunk and he wants this to go on forever. Dan enjoys how close they are and this is the only thought that’s left in his mind. Phil strokes his cock, slightly at first but with upcoming temp and force and Dan writhes under his touch.

“Phil,” he half moans, half whispers ”Phil. I want to… I want it.” Dan manages to say and he almost feels the blush covering his cheeks. Phil smiles and brings his face to Dan’s.

“I would love it, Dan,” he growls, “But we should steal some oil first. I want to do it properly and not hurt you. Believe me, it’s better like this now.”

Dan takes a deep breathe through his teeth as he feels himself close. He presses Phil closer.

“I want to feel you then,” Dan says under his breathe and wraps his hand around Phil’s cock. Phil’s moans become louder and faster and he jerks Dan off faster until they both are complete mess. Phil kisses Dan on his open mouth, his tongue exploring, and Dan comes, his eyes closed and his moans muffled by Phil’s lips. He wriggles under Phil, riding out his orgasm and almost stopping his hand on Phil’s member so Phil takes his hand and moves it for him. The warmness that is Dan, the heat he radiates feels intense on his cold skin and he comes too, moments later, collapsing on top of Dan.

They both pant and smile afterwards. Dan takes Phil’s hand and curls to his side whereas Phil tries to wipe them with their blanket. Dan falls asleep smiling and Phil watches him until the sleep doesn’t take him too.

The next morning, after the rich breakfast, they are seen to the Lord’s office. All the older ones wait for them in the corridor and try to hear what they are saying. After an hour they leave the room and everyone steps around them.

“We would be his army,” Phil starts and everyone seem to strain themselves a bit. “We would get food and supplies and everything we need. After the coupe we would get our rights back.” 

“We have children in our part, you know?” PJ starts, but Dan interrupts him. 

“We know. The soldiers should be above fourteen to fight. No children would be taken to war. Until their age they will stay here and learn what they need.”

“We are too few, then.” Ben says,” It’s like seven of us who can fight.”

“We will find more,” Phil says strongly, ”We aren’t this rare. We will fight for our future.”

“For our future!” Everyone repeats and the realisation hits everyone at once. There is no way back.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sadness!

Dan is eighteen. He sits in a tent in the middle of the camp and waits for the messenger and the news. The news that can change their lives.

The parley seems to be a luxury in their state but this can be their salvation. They have collected an army, a large one considering that everyone in this army is not only a soldier, but a bender too. They have attacked some cities and won the battles. But no army is completely invincible and they have lost people and neither Dan nor Phil haven’t suffered from the nightmares that bad.

Dan hears a cough outside his tent and then a muffled voice of the messenger. Finally. He gets up from the bed and opens the curtain to see Alex. The man just nods and they both walk to the bigger tent in the middle of the camp where the council takes place.  
Once Dan enters everyone stand up. It is a rule the Lord insisted on introducing.

“If you are a leader, they should treat like one,” he said and since then all the people the Lord has sent bow and stand up in his and Phil’s presence. Dan hates it and has tried to persuade everyone to stop it, but everyone is too afraid by the Lord. They have decided to just go with it.

In the middle of the ten there is a table with maps and documents. Phil and PJ bend over it, discussing something enthusiastically but they fall silent as they see Alex and Dan. They step from the table and make Alex come in the middle. 

“Well,” Alex says, looking round, “They want the parley.”

Everybody starts talking at once and the previously silent tent reminds a buzzing hive. Phil raises his hand and everybody fall silent again.

“They want the parley. Do they have conditions?” Phil asks and Alex nods, pulling out a little scroll from his belt.

“They have written this. I didn’t look,” Alex says, smirking, “But what they said is the presence of the two leaders, weaponless and in their place.”

Phil takes the scroll and unrolls it. He reads it silently, his eyes follow the lines. He puts away the scroll and places it on the table.

“They want us to come to the ruins. Two participants. In two day days on the sunset.” Phil says, still looking down. The silence is unbearable and everybody wants to say something, but nobody says a word.

“It’s not all, yeah?” PJ asks. Phil raises his head and shakes it. He looks at Dan and Dan wants to vanish right now, disappear only not to see these eyes, because they don’t promise anything good.

“No, it’s not all. One of the participants should be fire.” Phil says without taking his eyes away and Dan thinks he faints for a second. The realisation hits him at once and the tent submerges in complete silence and Dan can almost feel all the eyes on him. He turns away and rushes from the tent, and all the candles suddenly blaze up.

Phil runs away right after him to see Dan not moving in front of their personal tent. Dan stands there, with his shoulders down and staring at one point. Phil walks closer to him and places his hand on Dan’s shoulder.

“We need to take decisions, Dan. It’s no time to show your temper,” Phil says and Dan turns around. He nods and they both walk back to the tent, where everyone seems to be worried and whisper around. As they enter, everyone goes to stand up, but Phil stops them with a movement of his hand. He walks in the middle of the tent leaving Dan at the entrance. 

“So,” Phil says, looking around at everybody, “As we have already understood, it’s a trap.”

“And as it is a trap, we can’t let any of us go. Especially, the firebenders.”

“What will happen if we just don’t go? If we just ignore them?” PJ asks.

“Nothing.” Phil sighs, “But the Lord…”

“What does this dickhead want again?” Chris says as he stands up.

“Don’t forget yourselves,” Phil raises his voice a bit and the draught puts out some of the candles. “It’s because of him we have everything we have. But he has his own rules for this war.”

“And his rule is, of course, that we take part in this parley,” Charlie says and Phil nods.

“He said, that if we don’t take part it will worsen our image through people,” Dan says and everyone turns around to him, ”If we miss the parley, we will seem just ignorant robbers who fight for their delight and profit. If we go and it’s a trap, we will seem like saints.”

“Yeah, by prices of our people,” Carrie says. “They want the fire,” she mimics, “Of course, they do. We have what, three thousands people and only twenty of them are of our kind. And five of us are among the council. And one of them is the leader. That would be a priceless gift to keep our image.”

“What do we have to do then?” Phil growls and everyone take a step back. “We can’t let any of the present go. Which leaves us fifteen people who know nothing about our plans. And who will never sacrifice themselves for nothing, even if they are so loyal as Adam’s people.”

Adam nods and the tent falls to silence once again. When the next person speaks it sounds almost too loud.

“If they want the fire and the leader, they can have it. I mean, I can go,” Ben says and stands up. “And as the oldest, I won’t take any objections. Choose the second person.”

“Ben…” Carrie starts, but Ben cuts her off.

“No objections. Choose the second person.”

“I can go,” Phil says. 

“No, you will stay,” Charlie says and continues, “I would go. We are the oldest, we are the leaders and we have known each other for a long time.”

“Are you sure?” PJ asks and Charlie nods.

“Where are these ruins?” he asks Adam, who has spent most of his childhood in these fields. Adam steps closer to the map and shows Ben and Charlie the route.

“You can take our horses,” Adam says when they finish with all the explanations and Charlie and Ben nod simultaneously.

“If it is…” Phil starts, and Charlie cuts him off.

“If by any chance it isn’t a trap, we know our strategy.”

“Yes.” Phil nods. “The council is over for today then. We will wait the news from you then.”

“It’s better we set off tomorrow morning. We better have some sleep,” Ben says and he and Charlie leave the tent, nodding to everyone. “Good night.”

Everyone leaves the tent one after another and soon only Dan and Phil stay inside. Phil opens his arms and Dan hugs him back. He has no tears or regrets, and the realisation that one of his friends would die soon hasn’t hit him yet.

“You should say your goodbyes.” Phil whispers. “ I haven’t told mine, and I regret it so much. You should tell him.”

Dan nods and parts from Phil.

“I better go,” Dan says and Phil caresses his hair.

“Everything will be fine,” he says but they both know it won’t.

Dan finds Ben on the outskirts of their camp. He lies on the ground, his back pressed against the rock and stares in the darkness that is the rest of the field. Dan hears a cough and turns around and sees Carrie and Alex.

“Like old times, huh?” Ben says and they all turn to him. “Come here, kids, I’ll tell you a legend.”

Dan doesn’t see his face, but he can bet anything that Ben has his usual smirk on. They come closer to him and sit near. Carrie places her head on Ben’s shoulder and Alex takes her hand. Dan sit on Ben’s right side, close enough for their shoulders to touch and closes his eyes.

They sit in silence, unable to say anything and after some time Dan hears Carries muffled sobs and feels tears on his cheeks. Ben places his hand on Carrie’s curls and caresses her hair.

“It might not be the end,” Alex says.

“Of course, it is. We all know, I won’t be coming back alive. Two of us, weaponless, the fire.”

“Maybe they won’t take the risk?” Dan whispers, ”Maybe for them, they can also ruin their image?”

“Dan, these people killed and tortured children. They made us who we are, warriors, merciless warriors. I don’t think they care about image.”

They keep silent. After hours of silence they all fall asleep, pressed close to each other. They wake up with the sunrise, eyes a bit puffed bit otherwise pretty okay. The stone behind them is warm and they laugh at it - they might be reptiles, after all. 

Ben and Charlie leave on the horses and all the council sees them off. Dan notices Emma and PJ, who stay together and thinks that now they understand each other as have never understood before. The horses disappear in the distance and the usual day of the camp continues.

Three and then four days pass and there are no news from the negotiators. On the fifth day the council decides on the search party for the missing. Dan and PJ volunteer and no matter how hard Phil asks Dan to stay he doesn’t listen.

“You don’t even know, what you might see there!” Phil shouts at him the day before the party is meant to set off. All the candles in their tent have been put away long ago but Dan wishes they weren’t as otherwise he could burn them and let out the power. 

“I don’t care. I want to see him whether alive or not. He raised me Phil, he was my only parent and I want to see him. Tell me, have you never wanted to see Grace for the last time? Honestly, Phil? Or the Master?”

Phil says nothing. They have never talked about that night and Dan is clearly crossing the line.

“Don’t you dare,” Phil almost hisses, but Dan turns away and leaves the tent. He goes to the council tent, as nobody will disturb him there and lays on the one of the couches. He doesn’t sleep well, thinking, in regrets of his words to Phil, but he will never accept his fault. After an hour and a half he falls asleep finally and the nightmares follow him the whole night. 

Dan wakes up to Phil’s hand shaking him awake.

“Please, come back alive,” he mouths and Dan says nothing.

The ride on the sunrise, Dan, PJ and two more benders, both air, from Adam’s tribe. They ride as fast as they can, when they finally reach the ruins of an old castle. They don’t even need to go inside to find anything - Charlie and Ben’s bodies lie next to each other right behind the former entrance, surrounded by the crows. Dan tries not to look at the mutilated corpses of their friends, but both him and PJ need to overcome it. 

“We should bury them,” PJ says and Dan nods. 

“We…” he starts, but stutters; his throat suddenly too dry to speak. ”We can burn them. If you want.”

PJ scares away the crows and sighs. 

“I wish we could bury him according to the custom,” PJ mutters and turns to airbenders. “Is there any water sources nearby?”

One of the airbenders nods and tries to show him, but PJ shakes his head.

“A bit later. We need to honor Ben first.”

Dan stretches his hand out and Ben’s body lights up like dry leaves. The smell isn’t nice but Dan doesn’t even flinch. He watches the flames eat his mentor until there is nothing left.

“Can you..” he calls to one of the airbenders and he nods. The ashes are taken by the light wind and scattered across the field. Dan just watches the little pieces of ash float and he feels the pain in his heart. They sacrificed their lives for the future, they aren’t sure they will obtain. What a waste.

They bring Charlie’s body to the grotto formed by a spring by the foot of the ruins. PJ asks Dan to burn Charlie down too and Dan creates the heat so strong that the water boils. After some time PJ collects the ashes and pour it out into the water, watching as the little pieces float.

“They were good friends,” PJ starts and Dan nods without looking, trying not to cry. He is taken aback when PJ turns around and hugs him. They both stay in the halflit grotto, hugging and crying without saying a word. When they finally exit, the two airbenders wait for them with their horses.

“Nothing makes us stay here longer,” one of them says as PJ and Dan sit on their horses. They make only a few speechless stops on their ride back, just to feed the horses and water them. 

When they come back, Phil and other member of the council go out to meet them. They don’t ask questions and just see PJ and Dan to their tent. When Felix, the leader of the forest tribe, tries to argue, Phil just silences him.

“The council will be held tomorrow,” he says, “The party need to rest after the long ride.”

In their tent Dan falls asleep almost instantly, and he doesn’t even flinch when he feels Phil’s arm across his stomach. They lie together, Dan in deep sleep and Phil protecting him till the late evening, when Adam enters their tent and wakes them up.

“Phil, the council won’t start without you,” he says and Phil gets up immediately, waking Dan up.

“Five minutes, Adam, we are going.”

The council discuss their further attack on the nearest town, the attack they have planned before the offer of the parleys and Dan can’t concentrate. But when the plan is decided and the last comments on it are made both PJ and Dan say at the same time.

“No mercy.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> angst! and a bit of blood but everything will end well.

Dan is twenty. It is warm spring afternoon and the camp is surrounded by the trees in their blossom. But nobody watches them. Everyone watches the battlefield and the wounded.

This battle is anticipated. They have come so far, they are almost by the capital’s wall and it has been clear they would be met by the enemy. They all have known the battle would be severe and bloody and they fought like it was their last time. And they won. But it was a Pyrrhic victory.

Dan can barely feel his legs and arms. He doesn’t use the powers in the battles often, preferring to keep a secret his fire, but today his glaive was knocked out of his hands and he was made to use his powers. He was surrounded by whole bands of attackers and he had no rest. But that didn’t bother him at all. The only thing that bothered him that Phil wasn’t beside him.

He didn’t realise when they got separated. It was just the bare moments he was sure - one second he was back to back with him, fighting, and another - Dan was alone, surrounded by the attackers. He didn’t panic; he was in too many battles to do that, but the fact of the Phil’s absence made him feel incomplete.

Now, as the battle is over Dan has time to look around. Many of his comrades has fallen, but some of them are not dead. The more or less healthy ones dash around the bodies and try to help before the medics - self-taught, but very skilled nonetheless - come. He sees PJ’s blue shirt and rushes towards him. PJ kneels right to Chris, and Dan is afraid his friend is gone, but it seems everything is fine. 

“Did you see…?” he starts, but PJ just shakes his head and Dan steps back. He wants to call for help, but Chris seems to be able to stand up by himself. Dan watches them as they get to their tent.

He makes another step and the sudden pain strikes in his leg. He looks down and sees a cut, not so deep, but painful. He makes a bandage out of his shirt and walks, leaning on his glaive. Dan tries to make out enemies from friends, but that doesn’t work well. He notices Carrie, bent over the other wounded and helps her to bring him to the medical tent. 

“Carrie, have you seen..?” he says as he puts the wounded on the bed and Carrie nods.

“Ask Emma. She is somewhere near, I bet.”

“Do you need my help with anything?” Dan asks, but Carrie just shakes her head. She is already busy and Dan leaves the tent in silence.

Everyone around him is busy and he feels bad for looking for Phil, but the strange feeling of something inevitable doesn't leave him. He checks around again and tries to realise their loss, but there are too many corpses, covered in blood and dirt to understand how many they actually lost. 

Dan spends another ten minutes helping people beside him to get the treatment when he hears someone call to him. He turns around and there is Emma, her face is pale and the blood across her forehead more visible. She rushes to him and takes him by his shoulder. Dan feels like he is going to die right now.

“Dan,” Emma says under her breath, “We need you there.” She doesn’t look up at him and keeps breathing fast and unstable. Dan doesn’t ask and Emma says nothing more, but he knows deep inside that it’s Phil. He follows her to their tent and when he is already wants to enter, she stops him.

“So,” she starts, “He is not good. He has a deep incised wound and he lost a lot of blood and probably will lose a lot more if we won’t stop it. And we can’t. We tried everything. The blood just doesn’t stop.”

Dan listens to her and it seems like her words have no sense at all. He blinks and tries to concentrate on his breathing, but this doesn’t work.

“What do you mean?” he asks, but the realisation starts to settle in slowly.

“He is dying and we can’t help,” Emma says. She still has no courage to look Dan in the eyes, but she brings her hand to his arm to stroke. Dan pushes it away.

“May I...” Dan tries to say but fails “May I see him?”

“That’s why I brought you.”

Dan nods and takes away the curtain to their tent. Inside there are at least three waterbenders and they all are bent over his and Phil’s bed. He doesn’t see him behind them, but he can feel the tiniest cold draught in the room. The shock overwhelms him and it seems he can’t breathe anymore.

“Out!” he shouts, “Everyone! Out!” and the scared waterbenders leave the tent in a hurry. He turns to Emma who stands two steps behind him.

“Help the others. Say not to let anybody in. Whatever happens. My personal orders.” 

Emma nods and exits the tent. Dan takes little steps to the place where Phil is laying. He is whiter than the sheets and his eyes are closed. His cheats raises fastly and Dan’s can’t get his eyes away. He scans Phil’s body further, the body he seems to know by heart, but which seems so unfamiliar now. At the bottom of his belly there is a cut, almost neat but Dan knows it’s deep enough to kill Phil. Dan bites his lip. 

“You promised me, remember?” he whispers, taking Phil’s hand in his, “You promised me you will never leave me. I won’t let you. I will never let you, hear me?”

Dan wants to cry but he has not a single tear. He watches Phil’s chest rise and fall frantically, when the thought comes to his mind. It’s crazy and thoughtless, but he has no other choice. He needs to try.

Dan rushes to Phil’s field bag and rolls it over, all the insides fall on the ground. He looks throughs the contents, when finally he finds it. A flute, a small wooden flute that is not longer than Dan’s middle finger. Phil never gave up carving and this flute has been the last thing he made. 

He walks to the bed, Phil’s chest still moves and he feels a bit relieved. Dan traces the line of his previous scar, right across his left nipple. The wound on Phil’s stomach won’t stop bleeding and Dan grips his teeth. He needs to do it and he has no other choice.  
Dan straddles Phil’s thighs and he want to laugh at how ridiculous it might seem from the side. He bends towards Phil’s face so he can feel his rapid breathe on his lips. Dan fights the urge to kiss. He moves a little to Phil’s ear, trying not to touch him anywhere.

“You might not love it, but I need to try,” he whispers in his ear and places the flute in Phil’s mouth, right between his teeth. Dan takes both Phil’s arms and brings them over his head, holding them with one hand. He places the other hand on the wound, the blood feels warm and sticky on his fingers, but he doesn’t pay attention. He presses his lips to Phil’s ear, muttering almost an unhearable “sorry” and makes fire on his palm.

Phil’s eyes open instantly and he starts to wriggle, but Dan has him pinned to the bed and he can’t properly move. He screams, the pain must be unbearable, but the instinct tells Phil to grip his teeth on the flute and he presses them together so hard, Dan is afraid he would bite the woodwind in two. Dan sees pain and prayer in Phil’s eyes and there're tears and Dan tries not to catch Phil’s look because he's scared it would make him stop. He's sure it would make him stop and he needs to finish the started.  
After two minutes, each second of which feels like hell, Dan takes away his hand. Phil’s breathing is frantic but the blood has stopped and Dan watches Phil’s eyes that are full with shock and change the colour frantically. He smiles at him and takes away the flute, throwing it away and climbing off him. The second his feet are on the ground the tent opens, and Emma rushes in.

“What.. happened?” She asks, but Dan can’t even answer. He smiles and then starts to laugh, crazily, without even realising what happens. He slips on the ground, his knees pressed close to his face and laughs and laughs. Emma walks over to Phil’s bed, ignoring Dan and checking Phil. His breathing has got calmer, the blood has stopped leaving the body and Emma sits on his knees in front of Dan.

“What have you done?” she asks, surprisingly calm and commanding. Dan stops laughing.

“Will he live?” He asks, his head still buried in his knees.

“Yes. Yes, he will.” Emma says as she raises up. She makes the bondage over Phil’s wound, trying not to bother him more. “He owes you now,” she says and leaves the tent.

“No,” Dan mutters and stands up himself. He lies on the edge of the bed, beside Phil, taking his hand. “We’re even.”

When Phil wakes up, he feels dizzy and incredibly thirsty. He doesn’t understand where he is until he feels Dan by his side. He tries to push him awake but he is to weak. However Dan wakes up as soon as Phil touches him.

“Water,” Phil mouths and Dan gets up instantly to bring him his water bottle. 

“Slowly,” Dan says and brings the bottle to his lips. Phil drinks slowly but greedily, licking his lips. Dan puts away the bottle.

“What happened?” Phil croaks.

“Everything is alright. You tried to leave me, I brought you back.” Dan says as he lies back on their bed, interlacing their fingers.

“Thank you,” Phil says.

“Welcome.” Dan closes his eyes and shifts around so he won’t hurt Phil in his sleep. “You know, if you didn’t make it I will probably follow you.”

“What do you mean, you would follow me?” Phil tries to turn his head, but it feels awful and he decides to stay as he was.

“I can’t… I wouldn’t have survived without you. Fire cannot burn without air.” 

“Take this back.” Phil states with the iron tones in his weak voice. “Take this back and never say it anymore. Promise you will never follow me. You will never end your life because of me. Promise.”

Phil squeezes Dan’s hand so tight that he opens his eyes. He feels the cold fill his veins and this hasn’t happened since they were on the different levels. The cold crawls up his arm and Dan feels shivers. Phil is a cold murderer as any of them, but this terrifies Dan.

“But…” Dan tries to free his hand but for a person who has nearly died from blood loss Phil’s grip is incredibly strong.

“No buts, Dan. Swear. You. Will. Never. End. Your. Life. Because. Of. Me.” Phil stares at the ceiling, not letting Dan go and this is the most fearful Dan has ever seen Phil be.

“I swear,” Dan whispers and Phil loosens his grip a bit. “I swear I won’t kill myself if you die. I swear on the memory of the fallen.”

Phil nods in approval and loosens his grip on Dan’s wrist completely. Phil closes his eyes and sighs a bit and in a moment he's asleep again. Dan moves to his side, his arm over Phil’s chest, carefully so he won’t shift the bondage.

“You won’t be able to check though,” he whispers, untangling his crossed fingers behind his back.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> angst!

Dan is twenty-two.He closes his eyes for a second and opens them again. Only three people out of ten survived to this age in the cloister. He looks up at Phil, who is already twenty-six. Nobody lived that long in the cloister apart from the Master who had never left the chambers in more than fifteen years. 

They sit on the bench. What a calm and controversial action, Dan thinks and smiles to himself. They watch the people of the capital pass by and live their lives and it causes Dan’s anger. They have the right to live openly just because they are weak. That’s not honest.

Phil taps him on his shoulder and they get up simultaneously. They walk to the city centre, toward the counsellor's palace. It is a rich building, with huge marble steps leading to the carved door with the inlay. Dan and Phil exchange looks and start walking up the stairs, but are stopped half way by the guard. When they get back to the street, Phil leans to Dan, taking his hand.

“Two at the front, four behind the door,” he says in Dan’s ear. “You?”

“Two on the roof and three behind the columns,” Dan answers. They step closer to each other and Dan places his hands on the small of Phil’s back, his mouth closer to Phil’s ear. “Do you think they expect the attack?”

“Oh, I am sure,” Phil says, smiling. “But they surely don’t expect what we have planned. Let’s meet the others.” Phil tries to step back, but Dan presses him closer.

“May I have the kiss?” Dan smiles and Phil presses his lips to his. It’s so unnatural and weird to act like this, like the peaceful citizens completely in love. The war and blood and loss has been their routine, leaving almost no place for romance. This reminds Dan of their childhood and his smile faints.

“Let’s go,” Phil says, stepping back and they walk to the North Gates. 

They have had to hide in the nearest woods now, as the fields are behind. The guards and the gendarmery have the every day patrols, but the old spells do their work and hide them from the onlookers.

Their team is not large and hides closest to the city walls. They are proclaimed to be elite, the most skillful warriors and the most gifted ones. Phil and Dan weren’t supposed to end at the front line, as the leaders they should have been in the headquarters, giving orders but both of them declined the offer. 

“We gave it a push and we need to finish it,” Phil said at the council and nobody had the courage to object. They have ended up in the group and now they are doing the preparation for the last ever mission in this war. The capture of the councillor's palace.  
As soon as they leave the city wall, they turn away from the cobbled road. They walk slow, enjoying the sun in complete silence, until they see an old tree with the high crown. On one of the lowest branches Jack sits, swinging his legs. When he notices the couple he jumps down.

“Strange, huh?” he smirks, “It almost feels like we are normal people.”

“Yeah,” Dan laughs shortly, “Like their kind don’t haunt us since we are four.”

They all sit at the foot of the tree, waiting for the others. The are nine people in their team, almost all of them coming from different tribes from all over the country. This war finally give them an opportunity to feel like the proper people.

When two more people, Tim and John, arrive they set off for the forest in order to not seem suspicious. The guard is on duty now as the rumours tell the benders are close. If only they know.

The little dwelling they have found in the middle of the forest is their shelter. They wait the others here, the maps are laid on the floor and the most important posts are marked black with coal. Dan doesn’t look away from the map following the canalization tunnels they will use to get into the palace.Their plan is simple, but efficient - the four different groups would capture four most important places - the West and North Gates, the Treasury and the Palace. They don’t want blood - all of them has seen enough of it already. So the benders are going to do what they have been doing their whole night - hide and sneak around.

In the evening everyone come from their missions. Jack and Tim cook a simple meal out of the game they had caught yesterday. As they sit and joke around at the porch, the crow lands on the branch of the nearest fir. Phil stands up and for a few moments he and the bird just stare at each other, when it stretches its paw with a folded message. Phil takes it off and reads and suddenly everyone is silent.

“We are going tonight,” Phil says, raising his look from the piece of paper, “The signal will be given with the air.”

They continue to eat in silence. After the dinner they start to prepare - someone takes a small nap, someone polishes their weapon, someone just sits there silently and thinks. Dan takes Phil karambits and tries them on his point finger. The small drop of blood pours down the knife and he smudges it with his shirt. He sits beside Phil on the porch, placing his head on airmen’s shoulder.

“Funny,” Dan mutters and Phil tilts his head a bit in a silent question.

“It will be over tonight. No matter the end, it will be over. Six years of the war and this the end.”

Phil doesn’t reply anything. He just sits there, all his senses on guard, afraid to miss the signal from the council. It feels so nice to take orders and not to give them. Not being responsible for lives that are taken in each battle, but just exist and fight and kill and revenge. Finally, revenge.

The signal comes after what seems three hours. The wind starts suddenly, cold as usual, and ends as suddenly. Phil knows its the signal and gets up, waking up Dan, who has been sleeping on his shoulder.

They creep out of the woods, avoiding the patrol. The team crawls to the passage they have discovered not so long ago and gets in. Jack is the last, covering everything up and creating a stone block for the hatch.

“No way back,” he says as he finishes and the realisation of it hits every member of the group. They will fight till the end, even if they don’t want to.

The tunnel is high enough for a grown man to walk without any difficulties, but Dan and Phil still need to bend a little. They follow the turns on the map, Dan providing the light. They walk slowly and quietly, one by one, when suddenly a loud crash is heard and the ground shakes. Phil turns to Jack immediately and the earthman presses his hands to the nearest wall. He listens carefully and then takes away his hands from the wall.

“I have both good news and bad news,” he says and Dan rolls his eyes a little.

“Either. We don’t care,” he hisses and Jack shrugs his shoulders.

“Good - the crash was from the earth magic, which means that we took the North Gates. Bad - somebody expects us in here. I felt people stamping, so yes. We can get caught in a trap.”

Everyone looks at Phil. He stares at the plain wall for a few moments and then takes the map from Tim’s hands. Dan steps closer to light him.

“We need to separate then,” he looks up from the map. “Jack and Tim will go left on the next turn; Zoe and Charlie, you will turn right there. John, Katie and Luke will go to the left on the second crossroad. Dan and I will go on the established route.”  
Everyone nods in agreement. They continue walking until the next turn when Jack and Tim should leave.

“Do you have your map?” Phil asks and TIm nods. 

“Do you have a torch or something?” Dan asks and Jack takes out a wooden stick, that he uses in the fight. He tears away the bottom of the shirt and wraps the cloth around the end of the stick. Dan lights it up.

“Luck,” Charlie says and everyone raises their flat hands in goodbye.

On the next turn the ritual repeats itself apart from the problem with the torch - they wrap the cloth around Charlie’s sheath and the airbender won’t stop complaining.

When they part with the last three people from their team, they are already deep in the city centre. The exits meet more and more often, and the bangs from people standing on the metal covers fills the empty tunnels. They continue walking when suddenly Phil raises his hand to stop Dan.

“Do you feel it?” he asks but Dan just shakes his head.

“It’s certainly a gas. Cover your nose and mouth,” Phil says and Phil follows his order. They manage to walk only three more steps, when Phil suddenly falls. Dan kneels to find out what has happened, but as soon as he's on his knees, he passes out too.

They wake up in a weakly-lit room, with the grey walls and a metal bar instead of the fourth wall. Dan tries to realise what has happened but his mind seems clogged and clouded. He hears growling beside and turns to see Phil. The airbender opens his eyes and tries to get up, but the clang of chains is heard and Phil is pushed back on the floor. Dan looks at his own hands and sees the same chains.

“It actually was a trap,” Phil growls and Dan fights the urge to smile. He tries to concentrate and melt the handcuffs but nothing happens. He stares at the chains and then tries to make a fire on his palm and nothing happens. He looks at Phil in surprise. The airbender tries to create a wind, but the result stays the same - they have lost their powers.

“Do you think?...” Dan starts but Phil shakes head.

“Your eyes changed colour. It can’t be forever.”

They sit there alone for about thirty minutes, when a person comes to the bar. He is dressed in rich clothes and wears a strange small hat. His face resembles the face of a pig and so does his voice.

“Oh, my sweeties have already woke up!” he exclaims and Dan wants to throw something heave at the unknown man. Judging by Phil’s breathe, he shares the intention.

“No-no, my dear, you should keep calm,” the person says, “or otherwise I will need to kill you and I really, really don't want it. You are precious, I have never had one older than eightteen here.”

Dan feels the shiver down his spine. The person, knows who they are and how old are they and there are no doubt he will torture them. He doesn’t care about himself, but Phil… He can’t let Phil suffer. Dan looks at the airbender and catches his look and realises that Phil thinks the same. 

“So,” the pig person continues, “Whom do I start with? Any volunteers?”

“Over my dead body,” Phil spits out and the Pig laughs. 

“Don’t rush time, sweetie. We would probably start with you then and let your charming friend watch,” he waves a hand at somebody and two people in completely black uniforms unchain Phil and wring both his hands. Phil tries to fight back but with no success and they walk him out of the room. 

“Oh, don’t worry, sweet, I won’t leave you without entertainment. You will watch the show.”

With these words the other person comes in and makes the chain a bit longer, so Dan can stand up. The person in the black forces him up and locks the chain in another manner - now Dan is pinned to the metal bar, facing the big chair where Phil is sat. He catches Phil eyes and he can see the icy blue, but nothing happens. 

“I will never leave,” Dan mouths and Phil just closes his eyes. The moments after the chambers are full with the inhuman screams and the chair is shaking. Dan can’t look away from Phil, which tosses on the chair in agony and it seems he can feel this pain too. Dan can’t understand what they are doing, but he knows it is close to the fire nature. It looks like the lightning but there is no way the humankind, the powerless could control this power.

The torture stops suddenly and Phil’s head is leant back. The overwhelming fear that Phil died washes over Dan but Phil’s chest hardly but raises and Dan feels relief. He wishes he could do something, but his powers has left him and his hands and legs are chained to the bar, so the only thing he can do is watch and meet Phil’s eyes.

They repeat the torture five more times. By the end of each session, the Pig writes something in his notebook and gives the commands, but Dan can’t hear them. His ears are full with Phil’s screams, sound he wish he would never hear. Dan feels tears running down his cheeks, but he can’t even wipe away. Finally, the person in the black unchains Phil from the chair. He drags him as he walks to their cell. He opens the door but Dan doesn’t even react. He throws Phil’s body at him and Dan shifts to his knees, so Phil’s head would be at his lap. 

The other servant takes away handcuffs that are chained to the bar. As soon as Dan realises, he can move his arms properly he takes Phil’s face in his hand. Phil’s eyes are closed and his chest doesn’t rise anymore. Dan is afraid to check his pulse or heartbeating, and he just presses Phil closer to himself. The tears won’t let him see, but he doesn’t care. He rocks back and forth caressing Phil’s back and nothing in the world exists but him and Phil.

The door opens again. Dan doesn’t know how much time has come, a second or a day, but he still presses Phil close to himself, his head bend over. 

“Oh dear, I have killed your friend, I am sorry,” the Pig says and Dan feels himself shaking. He doesn’t raise his head.

“You see, it’s your place sweethearts. You are nothing more, but nature’s mistake and mistakes should be fixed. And I, as a Head of the Gendarmery, need to fix these mistakes. But it seems your friend wasn’t fixable. I am sorry, I truly am.”

Dan hears the shuffling and realises the Pig has come closer.

“Well, sweetheart, let go of him. He is useless. Your friend didn’t stand a chance,” the Pig mutters and then falls silent. “Oh. Oh. He wasn’t just a friend, was he? He was a _lover_. I am double sorry then. It must be hard to fall in love with such creatures. Do you mate like the animals? Or like us, humans? I was always curious about that.”

Dan feels the Pig’s hand on his shoulder and he tries to push it away but fails. He feels how the Pig pulls him back by his hair.

“Oh come on, sweetie. We would cure you and you would find yourself another one. I am sure there are plenty who would like to sleep with you,” the Pig pulls on his hair harder and it’s painful, but Dan is still motionless.

“Look at me,” the Pig hisses, but Dan doesn’t move.

“I said _look at me_ ,” the Pig shouts and Dan finally raises his head.

The black eyes is the last thing that the Head of the Gendarmery sees in his life.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well. I need to say that the epilogue that is written here isn’t the one that the story had in my head. In my ending, everything was more logical but darker and real.  
> As a person who have learnt history and read about many rebellions, I can say that this rebellion won’t work. They needed the support of all the people and not the civil war they tried to start. In reality, the thing that they’ve done won’t work. BUT. As Taicho reminded me they are real people. And killing them, even in fiction, isn’t quite good. So the happy ending was written.

They have spent hours on the investigation of the remains of the Gendarmery. The white flash was all they saw from the Palace and nobody knew, what that was. The councillor had capitulated only minutes before the flash and at first, the benders thought it was the explosion of the Treasury. Except it wasn’t.

PJ and Chris wander through the destroyed walls of the building, searching. They feel nothing but Adam said he felt fire there. Maybe Dan and Phil actually are here, but the only people they have found are the gendarmery. They keep looking, though the hope leaves them gradually.

When they already want to leave and throw the last look on the demolished building, one of the Adam’s people calls to them. PJ remembers him, but only partly. He is fire though and this fact makes him believe they have finally found something. The firebender points at the large slab that lies there, and Chris moves it away. And everybody falls silent.

They lie together, Phil’s head on Dan’s lap and Dan bent over him, pressing the airman closer to his body. It’s hard to say whether they breathe or not, whether they are still alive. PJ runs down and kneels in front of them, trying to measure their pulse but his hands are shaking and his eyes are suddenly full of tears. He takes a deep breath and places his fingers on Dan’s neck. He closes his eyes, concentrating, and then he feels it. Rare, almost unnoticeable, weak, but beats. PJ moves his hand to Phil’s neck, and feels the matching pattern. 

***  
Dan is thirty. He wakes up early in the morning to Phil’s quiet snoring. Their legs are tangled and Phil’s arm is on his tummy, protecting. He shifts from the bed and moves to the window, where the sun comes up.

“The older you are, the earlier you wake up,” Dan hears muffled Phil’s voice. “I sometimes think we have exchanged bodies, or something.”

“You can sleep, I will just check on the children.”

“They are out of danger, Dan, you know it,” Phil says, moving to his side. “But of course, check on them.”

Dan puts on a bright red tunic on him and walks from their room. He walks downstairs, to the room of the younger ones and slightly opens the door. The children, two airboys, a waterboy and a fireboy sleep calmly in their beds.

He walks silently to the furthest part of the room, which is divided by the curtain and looks behind it. There, a firegirl and a watergirl sleep on one bed. Dan smiles and turns around ready to leave the room, when he feels somebody tug on his tunic. He looks down to see Louise, the youngest girl that they have found at their doorstep two months ago. No matter how the rules have changed, it would probably take another twenty years for people to change themselves.

“Master,” the little earthgirl whispers and Dan kneels in front of her, “Master, I am afraid.”

“What are you afraid of, Loui?”

“I had a dream. A bad one. You and Master Phil left us and I shouted but nobody heard me and…” Louise starts to cry and Dan opens his arms to hug her. Louice presses himself close to him and clutches on his tunic. Dan strokes her hair.

“You know, Louise, that will never happen,” Dan says and the little girl looks up to him.

“Yeah?” 

“Of course. We will never leave you. Promise.”

Dan kisses her on her forehead and Louise laughs. Dan takes her in his arms and brings over to her bed. He tucks her in the blanket and kisses her again.

Dan leaves the room and goes upstairs. Phil is reading in their bed and Dan just lies near to him. He traces the lines of Phil’s scars and Phil starts from the tickles. 

The new day of their future starts.


End file.
